talk 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.
And while there is goofy comedy involving the often clueless sheep, Mazin didn’t want to talk down to the kids watching.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
What I am saying is that, if you have never found yourself in a situation where your life does a complete 180, it’s wrong to talk down to anyone.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 23, 2025
The world is full of voices telling adolescents they don’t matter and don’t understand anything, so a good YA book shouldn’t talk down to teens or portray them as helpless.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2025
But true friends don’t talk down to you and tell you that you’re lazy after you spent years living off of canned beans trying to make payroll—they rejoice in your success.
From Slate ● Dec. 15, 2023
Most teachers talk down to us, as if we’re a bunch of immature dummies who don’t know anything about anything.
From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez
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.
