talk down - Definition & Meaning

talk down

Third Person

talks down

Present Participle

talking down

Past Tense

talked down

Past Participle

talked down

to speak to someone in a way that suggests they are inferior or less intelligent than the speaker

Instead of talking down, offer constructive feedback for improvement.
It's not professional to talk down to clients, regardless of the situation.
Talking down to others is not a sign of effective leadership.
The coach emphasized the importance of not talking down to teammates during the game.
He always talks down to his employees, which affects their morale.

to describe someone or something in a way that makes them seem less good or important

They often talk down the beauty of the countryside compared to city life.
She knew how to skillfully talk down the importance of the event to avoid stress.
The marketing team shouldn't talk down the new product features during the presentation.
The critic had a tendency to talk down every movie regardless of its merits.
She always tries to talk down her competitors when discussing their products.

to control an airplane's landing, using radio communication

The skilled controller can talk down any plane with precision.
The automated system was able to talk down the drone to the designated landing spot.
The captain skillfully talked down the damaged aircraft to a safe landing.
The radio tower had to talk down the distressed aircraft after it lost navigation systems.
The ground control team successfully talked down the emergency flight in challenging weather conditions.

to convince someone to reduce the cost of something

The customer skillfully talked the car salesman down during the negotiation.
They successfully talked the supplier down on the bulk purchase cost.
With his negotiation skills, he talked the contractor down on the home renovation estimate.
She talked the seller down to a more reasonable price for the antique.