speak down to

Idioms  

1. see talk down to.

---

Example Sentences

"Political figures tend to speak down to us - but he did not. He paid attention to us. That's why young people listened to him."

From BBC • Sep. 11, 2025

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

He wasn’t afraid of the medium’s power, and he wasn’t about to coddle or speak down to his audience.

From Scientific American • May 8, 2012

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