gloss (over)

verb

Definition of gloss (over)next
1
as in to excuse
to make (something) seem less bad by offering excuses I don't want to gloss over her misbehavior, but keep in mind that she's been under a lot of stress lately

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in to ignore
to dismiss as of little importance this biographer tends to gloss over his subject's many character flaws

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for gloss (over)
  1. excuse
  2. ignore
  3. justify
  4. forgive
  5. explain
  6. overlook
  7. explain away
Verb
  • Everyone was happy to see Tim Ream excused his yellow card and Miguel Almiron cautioned for diving, including me.
    — Graham Scott, New York Times, 22 July 2026
  • The 49ers’ secondary struggled to make plays last season, and while an anemic pass rush didn’t help, that can’t excuse a lack of production.
    — Cam Inman, Mercury News, 21 July 2026
Definition of excuse
Verb
  • The aftermath of the fire has been litigious, with tenants accusing companies of not maintaining safety systems, ignoring complaints about fireworks and failing to secure the property after the fire.
    — Cassidy Alexander, AJC.com, 24 July 2026
  • The fact that those foreign students often want to stay in the US to contribute to either scientific or commercial endeavors is ignored.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 23 July 2026
Definition of ignore
Verb
  • Other South China Sea claimant states use the ruling to justify their own actions—and are sharply denounced by China each time.
    — Jill Goldenziel, Forbes.com, 30 July 2026
  • In the past, summers have not been hot enough to justify the trouble for most homes.
    — Stephanie Yang, CNN Money, 30 July 2026
Definition of justify
Verb
  • With the Great Wealth Transfer scheduled to get underway in the next few decades, younger generations could be forgiven for thinking a windfall might be coming their way.
    — Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 29 July 2026
  • Find the less desirable line, however, and the hole remains forgiving enough to leave a straightforward approach and an excellent chance to make par.
    — Jeff Goudy, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
Definition of forgive
Verb
  • The enterprise fund is generated from airport user fees, such as airline terminal rents, aircraft landing fees, parking revenues and rental car customer facility charges, Johnson explained.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 27 July 2026
  • Indefinite Causal Order Quantum systems often display behaviors that are difficult to explain with classical physics.
    — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 27 July 2026
Definition of explain
Verb
  • The album that followed a couple of years later has become such an enormous phenomenon, one that somehow grows more beloved with each passing decade, that the impact of 1975’s Fleetwood Mac has been somewhat overlooked.
    — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 23 July 2026
  • In September 2025 Roki delivered a new level of luxury to Queenstown with this stunner of an all-suite hotel overlooking Lake Wakatipu and the Southern Alps, just two minutes from town.
    — Laura Dannen Redman, Robb Report, 23 July 2026
Definition of overlook
Verb
  • Those anemic numbers help explain the President’s mania for changing the subject to election fraud—laying the groundwork to explain away any losses in November, or, worse, something closer to what Himes warned about.
    — Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 17 July 2026
  • There are other options, but regardless of what’s on the table for the future, burnout deserves to be taken seriously rather than explained away out of pride, guilt, or habit.
    — Scott Hanson, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
Definition of explain away
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

glossing (over)
gloss (over)
glossy
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Gloss (over).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gloss%20%28over%29. Accessed 30 Jul. 2026.

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