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
In these moments, many of us—including the bulk of my health care worker patients and me—are quick to talk down to ourselves and self-blame.
From Slate • Feb. 13, 2023
“It doesn’t talk down to them. It doesn’t try to teach them things. They’re learning through the experience and play,” Aspinwall says.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 8, 2022
“You may call me Tandy. You may call me Ms. Angel. But please don’t ever talk down to me again.”
From "Confessions of a Murder Suspect" by James Patterson
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.
