shrug off
verb
shrugged off; shrugging off; shrugs off
1
: to shake off
shrugging off sleep
2
: to brush aside : minimize
shrugs off the problem
3
: to remove (a garment) by wriggling out
Synonyms
Examples of shrug off in a Sentence
an administration that was willing to shrug off the problem
she shrugged off her coat and hung it up neatly
Recent Examples on the Web
In a park in the city center, close to a monument dedicated to children killed in the conflict — its base strewn with teddy bears — a pair of pensioners named Raisa and Nataliya shrugged off the idea of hardship.
—
Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2024
If the law of war is to survive today’s existential challenges, the United States and its allies need to treat it not as an optional constraint to be adjusted or shrugged off as needed but as an unmoving pillar of the global legal order.
—Oona A. Hathaway, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
Gandhi is a fidgety orator, unable to shrug off the routine disturbances of a rally.
—Samanth Subramanian Vikas Adam Tanya Pérez Zachary Mouton, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2024
During conference panels, interviews and earnings report calls, most AI company executives shrug off concerns about job losses.
—Gerrit De Vynck, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
The New York Four, who mock and manipulate and obsess over minutiae while shrugging off the wellbeing of others and the world at large, are essentially convicted of being bad people.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 8 Apr. 2024
Today’s Paper | Subscribe Our Coverage of the 2024 Presidential Election
News and Analysis
Nebraska legislators overwhelmingly declined to change how the state awards its Electoral College votes to a winner-take-all system, shrugging off pressure from former President Donald Trump and his allies.
—Eric Lipton, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2024
Years of scrutiny Apple has shrugged off legal challenges and criticism for years that its practices are anticompetitive.
—Brian Fung, CNN, 21 Mar. 2024
The mighty American consumer has shrugged off months, even years of recession predictions from top economists and Wall Street CEOs.
—Will Daniel, Fortune, 14 Mar. 2024
Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2024
If the law of war is to survive today’s existential challenges, the United States and its allies need to treat it not as an optional constraint to be adjusted or shrugged off as needed but as an unmoving pillar of the global legal order.
—Oona A. Hathaway, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
Gandhi is a fidgety orator, unable to shrug off the routine disturbances of a rally.
—Samanth Subramanian Vikas Adam Tanya Pérez Zachary Mouton, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2024
During conference panels, interviews and earnings report calls, most AI company executives shrug off concerns about job losses.
—Gerrit De Vynck, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
The New York Four, who mock and manipulate and obsess over minutiae while shrugging off the wellbeing of others and the world at large, are essentially convicted of being bad people.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 8 Apr. 2024
Today’s Paper | Subscribe Our Coverage of the 2024 Presidential Election
News and Analysis
Nebraska legislators overwhelmingly declined to change how the state awards its Electoral College votes to a winner-take-all system, shrugging off pressure from former President Donald Trump and his allies.
—Eric Lipton, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2024
Years of scrutiny Apple has shrugged off legal challenges and criticism for years that its practices are anticompetitive.
—Brian Fung, CNN, 21 Mar. 2024
The mighty American consumer has shrugged off months, even years of recession predictions from top economists and Wall Street CEOs.
—Will Daniel, Fortune, 14 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shrug off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near shrug off
Cite this Entry
“Shrug off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shrug%20off. Accessed 5 May. 2024.
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