Synonyms of shoot down

shoot down

verb

1

as in to ridicule

to make (someone or something) the object of unkind laughter

nowadays the aging activist is routinely shot down in most quarters of the media and dismissed as an irrelevant crank

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ridicule
• mock
• laugh (at)
• rag on
• make sport of
• make fun of
• poke fun at
• scout
• tease
• deride
• taunt
• parody
• jeer
• gibe
• cock snooks (at)
• skewer
• scoff (at)
• imitate
• sneer (at)
• cock a snook (at)
• torment
• harass
• put down
• target
• scorn
• take off (on)
• disparage
• belittle
• decry
• rag
• ride
• rib
• needle
• kid
• bug
• quiz
• rally
• mimic
• tweak
• bait
• razz
• pester
• twit
• jive
• caricature
• harry
• parrot
• satirize
• bad-mouth
• ape
• josh
• pooh-pooh
• chaff
• heckle
• hassle
• burlesque
• pillory
• lampoon
• catcall
• travesty
• barrack

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• approve
• commend
• endorse
• applaud
• sanction

2

as in to dismiss

to reject by or as if by a vote

every one of my fund-raising ideas was shot down by the other club members

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dismiss
• kill
• veto
• refuse
• negative
• down
• blackball
• decline
• disapprove
• nix
• disallow
• blacklist

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• confirm
• allow
• pass
• admit
• approve
• ratify
• support
• assent (to)
• elect
• sanction

3

as in to refute

to prove to be false

the results of several studies shoot down the hypothesis that coffee causes heart attacks

Synonyms & Similar Words

• refute
• overturn
• disprove
• challenge
• discredit
• rebut
• falsify
• discuss
• confute
• confound
• belie
• debunk
• question
• talk over
• contest
• disconfirm
• overthrow
• give the lie to
• doubt
• debate
• hash (over)
• query
• mistrust
• moot

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• prove
• establish
• verify
• show
• confirm
• validate
• support
• document
• record
• witness
• back (up)
• identify
• evidence
• substantiate
• illustrate
• demonstrate
• certify
• display
• manifest
• corroborate
• evince
• buttress
• adduce
• authenticate
• attest

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of shoot down

Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia launched 205 drones overnight into Monday, with 172 shot down or suppressed. — Hanna Arhirova, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026

Israel was prepared to shoot down a FlyDubai plane after the captain was attacked in the cockpit, even with over 150 Israelis on board, two Israeli sources with direct knowledge of the situation told CBS News. — Matt Gutman, CBS News, 5 Oct. 2026

The most important change may therefore be less dramatic than the image of a laser beam shooting down a drone. — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 2026

The insurgents continued to focus on raids but also engaged in more extensive operations and terror tactics, such as ZIPRA’s shooting down of civilian airliners in 1978 and ’79. — Chinatsu Tsuji, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Sep. 2026