as in to ignore
to dismiss as of little importance
brushed off their complaints as the whining of people who were never satisfied
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brush (aside or off)
Verb
-
Roughly 2 in 10 did not have time to make an appointment, had felt ignored or dismissed by a provider in the past or were too embarrassed to talk to a person.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 Apr. 2026 -
Too seldom is the collective good even an afterthought, E Pluribus Unum a motto untranslated and ignored.—
Rabbi Dan Levin,
Sun Sentinel,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
For now, at least, the audience seems forgiving, which lets Jomboy try new things.—
Louisa Thomas,
New Yorker,
12 Apr. 2026
-
You’d be forgiven for getting the impression that Apple and Netflix were at odds somehow upon seeing the reports that Netflix has switched the content-player screen on its Apple TV app back to its own design instead of the native Apple player.—
Eric Vilas-Boas,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
What tends to be overlooked, in the aesthetic shock, is Proust’s elaborate hymn to its moral and spiritual implications.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Set on a bluff overlooking the Pacific, this sprawling 30-acre resort has 263 rooms with gorgeous oceanfront views and generously sized soaking tubs.—
Acacia Gabriel,
Travel + Leisure,
12 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Mariam explained that she’d been admitted to Bronx Science through a program called Discovery, for students from disadvantaged backgrounds whose test scores fell just below the school’s cutoff line.—
Molly Fischer,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Could the seizures explain Al-Hashimi’s moments of forgetfulness that Robby has been curious about during his shift?—
Raven Brunner,
PEOPLE,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
But those are two very different movies, and there aren’t enough achingly tender John Prine songs in the world to paper over the gap between them.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
9 Apr. 2026
-
The improvement between Gemini 2 and Gemini 3 may be papering over a more serious flaw.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Our expert take The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a standout premium credit card with plenty of luxury perks and statement credits to justify its annual fee.—
Jason Stauffer,
CNBC,
13 Apr. 2026
-
For the Fed to cut, adding more liquidity to the economy while prices are already elevated would be highly unusual—but might be justified if another element of the Fed’s mandate demanded it.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Earlier that year, Orbán’s government was rocked by public furor over the decision by Hungary’s president, Katalin Novák, to pardon the deputy director of a children’s home who had helped cover up the abuse of underaged boys.—
Christian Edwards,
CNN Money,
12 Apr. 2026
-
Authorities also provided no details on whether any of those pardoned were protesters convicted and sentenced for terrorism, contempt or public disorder.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
2 Apr. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Brush (aside or off).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brush%20%28aside%20or%20off%29. Accessed 16 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
