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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
He was talked down in most of the cases by cabinet secretaries and lawyers — until the advent of the coronavirus.
—Zolan Kanno-Youngs, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025
People want to be inspired by their president, not talked down to.
—Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 9 Jan. 2025
Rebecca Harrell stars in a film that treats young people with intelligence and grace, never talking down to them like so much modern family entertainment, as the story of a wounded reindeer becomes truly magical.
—Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 8 Jan. 2025
Like Brown, the Wild Robot film team was adamant that their film would not talk down to the kids.
—Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Jan. 2025
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Word History
First Known Use
1642, in the meaning defined at transitive sense
Dictionary Entries Near talk down
Cite this Entry
“Talk down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/talk%20down. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
Kids Definition
talk down
verb
: to speak in an overly simple manner as if to a person who does not know much
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