brushing (off)

verb

present participle of brush (off)
as in winking (at)

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for brushing (off)
  1. shrugging off
  2. dismissing
  3. rejecting
Verb
  • But on Tuesday, senators failed to advance the firms’ top legislative priority, shrugging off the threat of tens of millions of dollars that still could hit them this fall.
    — Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Part of it is that more women are speaking up about hair loss, shrugging off the stigma and reaching out for help.
    — Maggie Ryan, Flow Space, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of shrugging off
Verb
  • Department of Defense Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael addressed Luckey's involvement with the Pentagon in comments to CNBC on Tuesday, dismissing any concerns about a potential conflict of interest.
    — Samantha Subin, CNBC, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Vance’s comments last week came in response to Cruz openly discussing a potential 2028 run and dismissing a question about whether the vice president had already locked down the party’s nomination with two years to go.
    — Joseph Konig, PEOPLE, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of dismissing
Verb
  • Kim Yo Jong issued a statement Friday rejecting Seoul’s demand for an apology.
    — Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 5 Oct. 2026
  • David Peck, Pourharton’s attorney, told the Town Plan and Zoning Commission that his client’s business has created no reason for rejecting the request, noting that GG hasn’t been the scene of arrests or police activity.
    — Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of rejecting
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.

Browse Nearby Words

brushing (aside or off)
brushing (off)
brush (off)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Brushing (off).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brushing%20%28off%29. Accessed 13 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of abscond

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Why do we call it a 'flea market'?
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All