brushes (off)

present tense third-person singular of brush (off)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for brushes (off)
Verb
  • His Bear shrugs off advice from friends and co-workers Ian (Cooper Tomlinson) and Sara (Megan Lawless) who notice that Nikki seems to get more unhinged by the minute.
    Randy Myers, Mercury News, 13 May 2026
  • Singh shrugs off the need for external validation.
    Christopher Elliott, Forbes.com, 10 May 2026
Verb
  • Taiwan’s government rejects China’s sovereignty claims, saying only the island’s people can decide their future.
    Reuters, NBC news, 10 June 2026
  • There’s already wide agreement within the denomination that its faith statement rejects the appointment of women as senior pastors who lead churches.
    ABC News, ABC News, 10 June 2026
Verb
  • Steve dismisses the idea, but Alice is already playing wing-woman.
    Ben Travers, IndieWire, 8 June 2026
  • For her part Zoe, mature well beyond her tender age, dismisses the hype with a shrug.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2026
Verb
  • At a raucous commission meeting Tuesday, City Manager Rickelle Williams faced a storm of withering accusations in her initial job evaluation — mostly from Mayor Dean Trantalis, who eagerly supported hiring Williams last year but now scorns her in public.
    Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 8 May 2026
  • In character as a free spirit who scorns social convention, Davis is all haughty tosses of the head and sneering lines.
    Darren Franich, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Mar. 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.

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Cite this Entry

“Brushes (off).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brushes%20%28off%29. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.

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