dismissive

adjective

dis·​mis·​sive dis-ˈmi-siv 

: serving to dismiss or reject someone or something : having or showing a disdainful attitude toward someone or something regarded as unworthy of serious attention

He responded to the question with a dismissive wave.

In the past, Westerberg had been dismissive of Bob's playing, but he says relistening to the early records gave him a new perspective.

—Bob Weir

dismissively adverb

Writer Tom Fontana's violent, realistic drama debuted five years ago and uninitiated viewers still dismissively call it "that prison show on HBO."

—Ian Rothkerch

These are not people who speak dismissively of the brain's capabilities.

—Brad Leithauser

dismissiveness noun

The work of feminist scholars, both individually and collectively, has been greeted in some quarters with impatience, irritation, dismissiveness, even contempt.

—Cullen Murphy

Examples of dismissive in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The two men were sneeringly dismissive of the court order requiring his return, offering an obviously absurd argument that neither country could facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States. —Zack Beauchamp, Vox, 15 Apr. 2025

The manager at one restaurant was clearly not into magic and was being dismissive. —Melody Wilding, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025

Trump’s dismissive reaction is perhaps due to a longtime disdain for many in the industry who have heavily supported his Democratic rivals through the years. —Ted Johnson, Deadline, 10 Apr. 2025

Yet no one else can quite believe that the Mafia have followed cocaine from tough Sicily to sleepy Apulia, least of all the dismissive Bari police chief, who reprimands Pietro for his maverick approach to detective work. —Leo Barraclough, Variety, 9 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1645, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for dismissive

• derisive
• emissive
• permissive
• submissive
• transmissive
• missive