as in to quell
to put a stop to (something) by the use of force
public protests against the dictatorial government were always promptly slapped down
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Recent Examples of slap down
That's the same thing that Alabama did after the 2020 Census, only to be slapped down by the Supreme Court two years ago when a narrow court majority ruled that the state had illegally diluted the Black vote in violation of the Voting Rights Act.
—
Nina Totenberg, NPR, 27 June 2025
Between pushes, the nurse slips the soaked green sheet out from under me, slaps down a clean one.
—Erica Stern
june 9, Literary Hub, 9 June 2025
Managing to directly stay out the Lively-Baldoni fray (though not the tabloids’ speculations of the state of Lively-Swift friendship) until recently, the controversy adverse Swift was quick to slap down the subpoena Baldoni’s team served on her at the beginning of this month.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 14 May 2025
An appeals court on Thursday slapped down the administration’s attempt to get out of providing more information about its efforts to bring back Abrego Garcia.
—Patrick Reis, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
See All Example Sentences for slap down
Nina Totenberg, NPR, 27 June 2025
Between pushes, the nurse slips the soaked green sheet out from under me, slaps down a clean one.
—Erica Stern
june 9, Literary Hub, 9 June 2025
Managing to directly stay out the Lively-Baldoni fray (though not the tabloids’ speculations of the state of Lively-Swift friendship) until recently, the controversy adverse Swift was quick to slap down the subpoena Baldoni’s team served on her at the beginning of this month.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 14 May 2025
An appeals court on Thursday slapped down the administration’s attempt to get out of providing more information about its efforts to bring back Abrego Garcia.
—Patrick Reis, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
See All Example Sentences for slap down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slap down
Verb
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The Zips are viewed as one of the worst teams in the FBS this season, and the debut game against Wyoming did nothing to quell those concerns.—
Kilty Cleary,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Sep. 2025
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Trump has also repeatedly threatened to send in National Guard troops to assist the efforts and to help quell violent crime, which the president has tried to paint as out of control but in fact has been steadily decreasing in Chicago in recent years.—
Jason Meisner,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Although Canon had mandated that the Cat's programmability be suppressed, the IAI team nevertheless maintained the ability to compute expressions, which Canon permitted as an extension of the editor metaphor.—
Cameron Kaiser,
ArsTechnica,
12 Sep. 2025
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However, the country's typically strict online censors did not appear to be limiting discussion in the comments—a tactic often used to suppress sensitive or politically awkward narratives.—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Critics panned Lyles’ subdued initial response and blamed the policies of Charlotte officials for failing to prevent the murder.—
Nick Sullivan,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Sep. 2025
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Critically, American surveillance technologies allowed a brutal mass detention campaign in the far west region of Xinjiang — targeting, tracking and grading virtually the entire native Uyghur population to forcibly assimilate and subdue them.—
Sheryl Estrada,
Fortune,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told Russian media on Saturday that Kim will sit on Xi's left side during Wednesday's parade, with Putin in the place of honor on the right.—
Robert Birsel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Sep. 2025
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Tabletop This style is small enough to sit on your dining table, a dresser or other prominent display area in your home.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The home officially sold for $55 million in February 2023, after Wahlberg and his family decided to leave California and put down roots in Nevada in 2022.—
Natalia Senanayake,
PEOPLE,
11 Sep. 2025
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Everything seems to be going Laura’s way until one afternoon, after Daniel has been put down for his nap — that’s how the dialogue sounds — things get steamy with Howard.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Slap down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slap%20down. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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