glossing (over)

verb

present participle of gloss (over)
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)
  1. explaining away
  2. ignoring
  3. excusing
  4. overlooking
  5. explaining
  6. forgiving
  7. justifying
  8. passing over
Verb
  • For Trump supporters, that means explaining away vexations like inflation and the war with Iran, twin anchors dragging down the president and fellow Republicans.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2026
  • There was no explaining away a mistake like that.
    — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 15 May 2026
Definition of explaining away
Verb
  • The queue — which wrapped around a nearby alleyway — slowly filed into the store, mostly ignoring the protest.
    — Anna Tingley, Variety, 4 Nov. 2026
  • The post accused bar employees of ignoring complaints about the costume and claimed the man made Nazi salutes.
    — Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of ignoring
Verb
  • But the series’ choice to humanize the villain without excusing her actions was intentional, Thornton explains.
    — Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Advertisement Dialogue does not mean abandoning our values, excusing aggression, or accepting injustice.
    — Halla Tómasdóttir, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of excusing
Verb
  • On a slight hill, wooden bench swings hover over the ground, overlooking many of the park’s trails.
    — Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Tinies Tinies in South Main Village offers a patio and upstairs terrace overlooking downtown Fort Worth.
    — Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of overlooking
Verb
  • Marysia gave her a handwritten letter explaining her new project—her printer was broken—and Daniel agreed to take some photos with her.
    — Olivia Kan-Sperling, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2026
  • Fu recalls, explaining that these families had helped her from the beginning and didn't want to see her work stop.
    — Sydney Lupkin, NPR, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of explaining
Verb
  • Acton, who led Ohio’s Covid-19 response, prioritized protecting the accessibility of Medicaid, forgiving medical debt, tackling surprise billing, and creating a new prescription drug plan to lower costs.
    — Sarah Todd, STAT, 4 Nov. 2026
  • The remarkably, borderline unbelievably forgiving Adams became good friends with her ex-husband.
    — Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of forgiving
Verb
  • Students can, and should, ask themselves at what point the additional health benefits stop justifying the costs in time and money.
    — John Alexander, Popular Science, 1 Nov. 2026
  • The centerpiece of the policy originally was his use of a 1977 law to declare America's longstanding trade deficits a national emergency, justifying double-digit tariffs on almost every country on Earth.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of justifying
Verb
  • Expect Trinidad Chambliss, picked off three times by Texas, to be better against an Auburn defense that’s allowed over 700 yards passing over last two games.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 28 Oct. 2026
  • The probability of a hurricane passing over any particular point is low, especially farther from the Mexican coast, since most Pacific hurricanes tend to stay closer to Mexico.
    — Nicholas Grondin, The Conversation, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of passing over
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.

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glossing (over)
gloss (over)
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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 6 Nov. 2026.

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