fobbed off

verb

past tense of fob off
as in wished
to offer (something fake, useless, or inferior) as genuine, useful, or valuable people who try to fob off to charities broken-down furniture that is fit only for the junkyard

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

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 fobbed off Your potential clients are terrified of being sold the dream then fobbed off to a junior team member. — Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fobbed off
  1. wished
  2. inflicted
  3. imposed
  4. passed off
  5. palmed off
  6. foisted
Verb
  • Nearly 30 years after his father went missing, Ademi both feared and wished that his remains will finally be found.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Older Generations Regret Not Traveling More A poll of 2,000 adults found New Zealand, Japan and Australia were the locations older generations most wished to visit but had never been to.
    — Rebecca Ann Hughes, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of wished
Verb
  • Summary Record heatwaves across the UK and Europe this summer have inflicted substantial economic costs, highlighted by two new reports.
    — Jamie Hailstone, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Even Corlys tries to negotiate for peace rather than see more devastation inflicted on soldiers and innocent people alike (not to mention the children Ormund lines around the city's gates as human shields).
    — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of inflicted
Verb
  • In a live context, and with the limits imposed by a hardware-heavy setup, there’s more possibility that the process will throw out some startling mutation.
    — Will Pritchard, Pitchfork, 8 Aug. 2026
  • On Thursday, the White House imposed a 15% tariff as well as price floors on products made from polysilicon, a material used in semiconductors and solar panels that’s primarily produced by China, in order to encourage domestic industry.
    — Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of imposed
Verb
  • Su-hun passed off the manuscript of Min-hui’s late sister as his latest novel.
    — Kayti Burt, Time, 26 June 2026
  • Sure enough, a member of the security team snagged the jersey, and it was passed off to a man who admired the jersey sitting in the ride behind Leo.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 10 Apr. 2026
Definition of passed off
Verb
  • France took the lead with a solo try from Ntamack, who ran down the short side from about 22-meters out, dummied, palmed off a defender and crashed over in a tackle in the 52nd, and conversion from skipper Maxime Lucu.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 July 2026
  • While other firms have trimmed entry-level hiring as AI takes over the admin tasks normally palmed off to younger workers, EY is actively investing in early-career talent.
    — Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2026
Definition of palmed off
Verb
  • So changes may be foisted on the American setup, just as Canfield and crew have been hitting their stride this season.
    — Andrew Rice, New York Times, 19 June 2026
  • Mariano Rivera is now synonymous with Metallica’s Enter Sandman, a song that was foisted upon the soft-spoken reliever by the Yankees’ marketing team.
    — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 12 June 2026
Definition of foisted

Browse Nearby Words

foamy
fobbed off
fobbing off
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fobbed off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fobbed%20off. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of vacuous

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
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
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All