DROSS Synonyms: 63 Similar and Opposite Words

dross

noun

ˈdräs

Definition of dross

as in garbage

discarded or useless material get rid of the dross before closing up the shop

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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.

Recent Examples of dross And we are asked to make the leap ourselves—men were also sacrificed as dross. — Literary Hub, 20 May 2026 The downside of all of these riches is the dross accompanying the gold. — Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 27 Feb. 2026 What tabloid dross tends to obscure is his impressive career—first as a star dancer at the New York City Ballet, then as a roving choreographer of complex, dynamic work that is rooted in balletic conventions but not restricted by them. — Sara Krolewski, The Atlantic, 4 Jan. 2026 These meteors are the dross shed by the comet 169P/NEAT, whose path Earth crosses at this time each year. — Joe Rao, Space.com, 16 July 2025 Amongst all the dross and angst, Neil and Teddy try to talk everyone into investing in a baseball-card trading venture that might generate $500 in profits after a year. — Stephen Rodrick, Rolling Stone, 19 June 2025 But among the dross there gleam a few brilliant exceptions—deceptive, slippery books that defy the constraints of region and genre. — Charlie Lee, Harpers Magazine, 18 June 2025 The chipmaker is still raising cash and cutting costs though, as there seems to be quite a bit of dross. — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 25 Apr. 2025 Many experience mental health challenges on top of the physical toll of making something out of the unending dross Kantamanto is pummeled with. — Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 3 Sep. 2019

Recent Examples of Synonyms for dross

Noun

Marcy had her hair tied up with a bow made from nylon cord and was bent over a fold-up kitchen counter rearranging wet garbage.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Aug. 2026
Polls show Farage is still likely to win, but that Count Binface — a spoof candidate who wears a garbage pail on his head — may get around 20-percent of the vote.

— Lauren Frayer, NPR, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of garbage

Noun

Surveillance footage obtained by The News shows the explosion erupting on the building’s second floor, sending glass and other debris rocketing across the street.

— Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 7 Aug. 2026
The update was published 10 weeks after the hot fire test anomaly, and in parallel Blue Origin has rapidly been working to clear debris around the sprawling Launch Complex 36-A site in Florida and starting to rebuild a launch tower.

— Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of debris

Noun

This comes at the expense of no movement in the wrist, but to be fair, having the lightsaber pointed in any other direction would look rubbish.

— Matt Gardner, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
Only construction waste will be accepted at the landfill such as, brush and rubbish, concrete, brick, rock, wood, paper, plastics, cardboard and roofing shingles and tiles.

— Elizabeth Campbell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 July 2026

Definition of rubbish

Noun

Several symbolic scenes, similarly unfolding in sinuous long takes—a ritualistic repetition of local habits at the junk yard, a formal dance of non-seduction at a luncheonette with a jukebox—lay bare the town’s ingrained and unyielding mores.

— Richard Brody, New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2026
In a lengthy feature published Sunday, the New York Times unpacked how Oracle executive chairman and CTO Larry Ellison’s aggressive spending on AI has left his company so heavily leveraged that its bonds are nearing junk ratings.

— Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of junk

Noun

Emory University’s Salamova, who studies indoor exposure, found levels of QACs in dust in daycare and assisted living care facilities to be about three times higher than in residential homes.

— Sandee LaMotte, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
Korean lunar orbiter spots Falcon 9 crash site The collision was expected to create a crater about 60 feet wide and 12 feet deep and throw a plume of dust and rock outward into the air.

— Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of dust

Noun

Ser Roxton finds Ormund’s corpse, while Gwayne searches among the rubble and ash for young Daeron.

— Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
On Saturday, recovery operations concluded at the Karam Building in Gaza after 19 bodies were found under the rubble, according to the Gaza civil defense.

— Mithil Aggarwal, NBC news, 9 Aug. 2026

Definition of rubble

Browse Nearby Words

droshky

dross

drought

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“Dross.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dross. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of dross

noun

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