glossed (over)

verb

past tense of gloss (over)
1
as in excused
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 ignored
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 glossed (over)
  1. excused
  2. ignored
  3. explained
  4. overlooked
  5. justified
  6. passed over
  7. explained away
  8. whitewashed
Verb
  • But my mother’s brother conveniently excused himself to the bathroom, while my aunt and other uncle turned to talk to each other.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Ovitz, meanwhile, asked to be excused from further questioning on the grounds that Ormond’s lawyers were trying to harass him with irrelevant questions.
    — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of excused
Verb
  • That got ignored, as indicated by the five salmon packages, sitting in the walk-in cooler, still in the packaging and defrosted.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The Villa Borghese is full of ancient marble statues, which Leo largely ignored.
    — Jeanne Bonner, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of ignored
Verb
  • Smith also explained what would happen if a legal challenge ultimately failed, including continuity arrangements with European partners and backup copies of Microsoft’s code held in Switzerland.
    — Margot Edelman, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Longini explained that climate change is increasing mosquito populations and lengthening their active seasons, contributing to dengue’s spread globally.
    — Alex DeLuca, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of explained
Verb
  • The service Employees are beautiful, plentiful and delightful, with a high staff-to-resident ratio that keeps guests from feeling overlooked, although communication between departments could be better.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Oct. 2026
  • One reason why the shop floor has been overlooked is because the enterprise software industry has focused most heavily on developing digital transformation solutions for corporate functions that are very similar from one company to the next.
    — Naveen Poonian, Forbes.com, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of overlooked
Verb
  • Mississippi’s attorney general says a Senatobia police officer was justified in firing into a car during a shoplifting response, killing 1-year-old Kohen Wiley.
    — Sophie Bates, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
  • However, that valuation may be justified by strong earnings growth.
    — Fred Imbert, CNBC, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of justified
Verb
  • Chang was steadily promoted before he was passed over for the position of chief executive, perhaps for bamboo-ceiling reasons.
    — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
  • After he was passed over for a promotion, his wife emailed HR demanding to know why.
    — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of passed over
Verb
  • 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
  • Certainly, there are swing issues that can’t be explained away by a good week at Triple-A.
    — John Shipley, Twin Cities, 29 May 2026
Definition of explained away
Verb
  • Boutique brand Katikies has brought the success of its sister hotel in Oia, Santorini, to Mykonos, with a spacious, whitewashed sanctuary on the island’s southwest coast.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The one-bedroom space is minimal, deliberately quiet, and whitewashed.
    — Katharine Sohn, Architectural Digest, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of whitewashed
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

glossed
glossed (over)
glosses
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Cite this Entry

“Glossed (over).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/glossed%20%28over%29. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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