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talk down

talk down
T t

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [tawk doun]
    • /tɔk daʊn/
    • /tɔːk daʊn/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [tawk doun]
    • /tɔk daʊn/

Definitions of talk down words

  • verb without object talk down to communicate or exchange ideas, information, etc., by speaking: to talk about poetry. 1
  • verb without object talk down to consult or confer: Talk with your adviser. 1
  • verb without object talk down to spread a rumor or tell a confidence; gossip. 1
  • verb without object talk down to chatter or prate. 1
  • verb without object talk down to employ speech; perform the act of speaking: to talk very softly; to talk into a microphone. 1
  • verb without object talk down to deliver a speech, lecture, etc.: The professor talked on the uses of comedy in the tragedies of Shakespeare. 1

Information block about the term

Origin of talk down

First appearance:

before 1175
One of the 8% oldest English words
1175-1225; Middle English talk(i)en to converse, speak, derivative (with -k suffix) of tale speech, discourse, tale; cognate with Frisian (E dial.) talken

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Talk down

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation

talk down popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 100% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

talk down usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for talk down

verb talk down

  • condescend — If someone condescends to do something, they agree to do it, but in a way which shows that they think they are better than other people and should not have to do it.
  • downplay — to treat or speak of (something) so as to reduce emphasis on its importance, value, strength, etc.: The press has downplayed the president's role in the negotiations.

See also

Matching words

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