speak down to
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Standing at more than 6ft tall, many people referred to him as ‘Big Ken’ but he did not speak down to the audience, he spoke in their language and was respected for that.
From BBC • Nov. 20, 2024
For he has made a special that works hard to not condescend or speak down to children, sometimes to a fault.
From New York Times • Dec. 24, 2019
Peter Wehner, who worked in George W. Bush’s White House and who has been consistently critical of Trump, thinks Democrats are vulnerable to criticism that they speak down to many voters.
From Washington Post • Oct. 2, 2018
People working at the pantry here don’t speak down to people, don’t treat them as below them.
From The Guardian • Nov. 25, 2015
He did not speak down to her or at her, nor content himself with puerile questions about her life or monologues of his own activities.
From "Sula" by Toni Morrison
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
