talking down
Belittling someone verbally
Talking down has two main senses.
To talk down to someone is to speak condescendingly, as if they were less intelligent or capable: Don't talk down to me—I understand the situation.
To talk someone down is to calm them during a crisis or guide them through a dangerous situation: The negotiator talked him down from the ledge.
In aviation, to talk down a pilot is to guide them to landing via radio instructions.
- patronizingTreating someone as inferior
- superiorHigher in rank
- high horseAttitude of superiority
- condescendingSuperior and dismissive manner
- arrogantExcessively high self-regard
belittling · dismissive · snobbish · holier than thou · browbeating · disparage · denigrate · demean · scornful · tone deaf · deprecate · hectoring · reassuring · crisis negotiation · defusing · calming · lowering the temperature · minimize
- downplayingminimizing, downplay, trivializing, belittling, soft-pedal
- mockerymockery, ridiculing, jeers, jeering, jibes
- pet peevesannoyance, loud chewing, irritation, frustration, aggravation
- condescensionpatronizing, belittling, superiority, smugness, arrogance
- de-escalationde-escalation, calming, defusing, pacification, placation
- dominance tacticsbullying, commanding, controlling, dictating, domineering
talking downtalking up
Praising to promote
building up · praising · encouraging · elevating · complimenting
talking downtalking up
Praising to promote
upselling · inflating · overvaluing · hyping up · overselling
talk, down, talks, talking, talkative, talker, talked, downed, downing