BRUSHING (OFF) Synonyms: 67 Similar and Opposite Words

brushing (off)

verb

present participle of brush (off)

as in winking (at)

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for brushing (off)

Verb

Publicly, the White House is shrugging off the legal setbacks.

— Toluse Olorunnipa, The Atlantic, 4 July 2026
Paul said, referring to an interview Edwards did several years ago shrugging off the Phoenix Suns’ addition of Kevin Durant.

— Jon Krawczynski, New York Times, 4 July 2026

Definition of shrugging off

Verb

After dismissing Cora and his staff, the Red Sox have surged back into playoff contention with the trade deadline looming.

— Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
De Vries barely looked at it, dismissing the message as spam or phishing without reading past the first few lines.

— Tatiana Sataua, Fortune, 31 July 2026

Definition of dismissing

Verb

Many residents are balking at that timing and at Ryan’s lawsuit against Killingly’s wetlands board for rejecting the first version of the plan on July 6.

— Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 6 Aug. 2026
Roster movement in both directions has been constant this year, from The New Day's exit to a former champion reportedly leaving after rejecting a new deal to the April release of 11 former champions.

— Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of rejecting

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“Brushing (off).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brushing%20%28off%29. Accessed 10 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of brushing (off)

verb

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