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

Sunday’s final will be his sixth World Cup match in total and first since dismissing Ecuador’s Piero Hincapie for covering his mouth while confronting Mexico’s Santiago Gimenez in the round of 32.

— Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 20 July 2026
In response, eBay's board wasted little time in dismissing the proposal.

— Mark Faithfull, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026

Definition of dismissing

Verb

One bill sought to lower the threshold for rejecting district court judges in retention elections from 50% of the vote plus one to 40%.

— Sophie Lindberg, Kansas City Star, 24 July 2026
White collar workers are rejecting their company’s AI tools, just as protests against data centers increase across the country.

— Mia Osmonbekov, Fortune, 23 July 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 27 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of brushing (off)

verb

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