1
as in explaining away
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 ignoring
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 glossing (over)
Verb
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The first-grade teacher shot by her 6-year-old student at a Virginia elementary school took the stand to testify Thursday in her civil trial against a former assistant principal, who is accused of ignoring multiple warnings that the boy may have brought a gun to school before the shooting.—
Cindy Von Quednow,
CNN Money,
30 Oct. 2025 -
Seeing her murder on video, and passengers just ignoring her and walking away, broke my heart like nothing ever has.—
Asher Notheis,
The Washington Examiner,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Some Republicans and Democrats criticized Vance’s response for excusing or downplaying the nature of the chat messages.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Oct. 2025
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Celebrating or excusing violence is abhorrent.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
21 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The Çırağan Palace Kempinski Istanbul, once an Ottoman imperial residence, is now a luxury hotel overlooking the Bosphorus.—
Susmita Baral,
Travel + Leisure,
25 Oct. 2025
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Today, the mountaintop hotel overlooking Eureka Springs offers ghost tours through its Victorian halls and former morgue, and the price of a room ranges from about $150 to $600.—
Deirdre Bardolf,
FOXNews.com,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The sheriff rebutted these calls by explaining that due to the executive order signed by Braun in January and related directives from Attorney General Todd Rokita, he was forced to comply with federal immigration efforts.—
Noe Padilla,
IndyStar,
31 Oct. 2025
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And politicians often use them as a way of explaining why things are going in a wrong direction, instead of taking responsibility for whatever goes wrong, or simply to raise fear.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Some viewers though were less than forgiving.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
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The Boss was essentially thanking the Taxi Driver scribe for forgiving the creative larceny Springsteen perpetrated in those early days of his career.—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The epicenter of the hurricane is passing over Cuba at the opposite end of the island to the Caribbean country's capital city of Havana, the BBC noted.—
Abigail Adams,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
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Over the next week, Melissa is passing over some warmer than usual waters in the Caribbean, which has not seen a tropical storm or hurricane yet this season.—
Alex Harris,
Miami Herald,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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For now, Yamamoto is on top of the world, justifying every dollar of the $325 million investment the Dodgers made in him.—
Jackson Roberts,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Oct. 2025
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Giuffre takes an interest in Epstein’s own self-justifying attitude toward his crimes.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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As reported by The Athletic last week, Aston Martin still had to enter an Accepted Breach Agreement (ABA) with the FIA to recognize its late submission which resulted from extenuating circumstances beyond the team’s control.—
Luke Smith,
New York Times,
28 Oct. 2025
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But only one home can qualify at a time, unless there are extenuating circumstances, such as relocating for a new job.—
Samantha Delouya,
CNN Money,
25 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Glossing (over).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/glossing%20%28over%29. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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