AAAmerican Accent US

talk down to

Inseparable

The verb and particle never split. The object always follows the whole phrase.

How to say it

Main stress lands on the first particle: talk DOWN to. The trailing “to” reduces almost to nothing — expect a schwa, not a full vowel.

Do not release the /k/. Before the consonant of “down” the stop is held and swallowed rather than popped — the same unreleased-stop move as in hot dog. One smooth unit: “talk down”.

What it means

  1. To speak to someone as if they were less intelligent.

    • “He has a habit of talking down to junior staff.”
    • “Nobody likes being talked down to.”

    Similar: patronise, condescend to

The particle logic

down

Something decreases, collapses, settles, or gets recorded.

to

The thing the action points at, sticks to, or is measured against.

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More TALK phrasal verbs

Compare the whole family →

talk into

To persuade someone to do something.

talk out of

To persuade someone not to do something.

talk over

To discuss something thoroughly before deciding.

talk back

To reply rudely to someone in authority.

talk down to — meaning, examples & how to say it