talk down
verb
talked down; talking down; talks down
: to speak in a condescending or oversimplified fashion
: to disparage or belittle by talking
Synonyms
Examples of talk down in a Sentence
a company that prefers to talk up its own products rather than talk down those of its competitors
Recent Examples on the Web
The junta accused the Americans of talking down to them.
—
Ruth MacLean, New York Times, 7 June 2024
The shutdown of the oil fields last week and Bashir's preparations for war, however, prompted Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson, and U.S. Special Envoy Princeton Lyman to rush to Juba to talk down the situation.
—Andrew Natsios, Foreign Affairs, 1 Feb. 2012
Some in the government have talked down the fiscal impact of the compensation: one official said the Treasury would be able to treat the sum as a one-off in the short term that doesn’t affect the government’s long-term tax and spending plans.
—Joe Mayes, Fortune Europe, 20 May 2024
Each episode saw Burns pause for young viewers at home to reply to his questions; eventually nominated for nine Emmy Awards, Blue’s Clues was renowned for emphasizing social and emotional skills and for not talking down to kids.
—Kevin Dolak, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for talk down 
Ruth MacLean, New York Times, 7 June 2024
The shutdown of the oil fields last week and Bashir's preparations for war, however, prompted Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson, and U.S. Special Envoy Princeton Lyman to rush to Juba to talk down the situation.
—Andrew Natsios, Foreign Affairs, 1 Feb. 2012
Some in the government have talked down the fiscal impact of the compensation: one official said the Treasury would be able to treat the sum as a one-off in the short term that doesn’t affect the government’s long-term tax and spending plans.
—Joe Mayes, Fortune Europe, 20 May 2024
Each episode saw Burns pause for young viewers at home to reply to his questions; eventually nominated for nine Emmy Awards, Blue’s Clues was renowned for emphasizing social and emotional skills and for not talking down to kids.
—Kevin Dolak, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for talk down
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'talk down.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Talk down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/talk%20down. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.
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