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
-
Alyssa Farah Griffin attempted to cut in, with Navarro ignoring her in the moment.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Jan. 2026 -
James said the administration has not provided evidence of fraud or misuse of child care funding in New York, while ignoring the standard processes for withholding such funds.—
Cayla Bamberger,
New York Daily News,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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There is no excusing his remarks about Childress, whose everyman, never-back-down persona is something with which many fans identify.—
Jordan Bianchi,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
-
There was also the spat with coach Steve Kerr that resulted in Green excusing himself to the locker room and never returning.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
4 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Smaller protests took place in Portland, Oregon; Sacramento, California; Boston, Massachusetts; Denver, Colorado; Durham, North Carolina; and Tempe, Arizona, where protesters lined a bridge overlooking a highway.—
Hanna Park,
CNN Money,
11 Jan. 2026
-
Eventually, state workers were relocated and the building sat empty for more than two years overlooking I-84 until it was sold in 2020 for $1 million.—
Kenneth R. Gosselin,
Hartford Courant,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The dispute was resolved after Singh agreed to provide additional context, explaining that the files were collaborative documents shared among participants through the messaging app Signal.—
Ryan Macasero,
Mercury News,
10 Jan. 2026
-
Scanning them launches video tutorials explaining what each product does — without forcing customers to ask questions in a store.—
Luke Fountain,
CNBC,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
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This opening scene establishes a human, forgiving tone for a movie in which we are often encouraged to laugh with our heroes but never at them.—
Peter Tonguette,
The Washington Examiner,
9 Jan. 2026
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The waistband of the wide-leg trousers is fitted with elastic for a stretchy, forgiving fit, and they’re even designed with two deep side pockets that’ll hold your phone in a pinch.—
Merrell Readman,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Alarmists will often focus on the negative while passing over potential positive outcomes.—
Jeff Mayhugh,
Washington Post,
5 Jan. 2026
-
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
Verb
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Two skeptics of the COVID vaccine, who were appointed to administration roles just last month, authored a brief assessment justifying the overhaul.—
Grayson Logue,
Washington Post,
9 Jan. 2026
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But the opinion from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel justifying the strikes remains classified.—
Caitlin Yilek,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Jacobson Moore is trying to get Daniel’s sentence reduced, citing extenuating circumstances.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
7 Nov. 2025
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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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Cite this Entry
“Glossing (over).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/glossing%20%28over%29. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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