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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brush (aside or off)
Verb
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The Europeans are shrugging off these comments, if not ignoring them entirely.—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Apr. 2026 -
Carla says her parents had no idea who might be behind the robberies and were surprised the thieves had ignored the millions of dollars’ worth of paintings.—
Jennifer Cannon,
Vanity Fair,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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For now, at least, the audience seems forgiving, which lets Jomboy try new things.—
Louisa Thomas,
New Yorker,
12 Apr. 2026
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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The improvement between Gemini 2 and Gemini 3 may be papering over a more serious flaw.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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At a time of widespread angst over runaway ticket prices, merely encountering something novel at a concert isn’t enough for many to justify the cost of getting in the door, particularly when superstars like Taylor Swift and SZA are on the road showing that innovation and value can coexist.—
Vanessa Franko,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Apr. 2026
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Seeing injustice justified with IQ, educators grew increasingly fed up with the indicator in the second half of the 20th century.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
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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
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As the former chairman of the Proud Boys who was convicted and pardoned for his role in the January 6 Capitol riot, Tarrio was treated as a bit of a CPAC celebrity.—
Alex J. Rouhandeh,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2026
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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 13 Apr. 2026.
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