as in to wish
to offer (something fake, useless, or inferior) as genuine, useful, or valuable
the con man tried to pass off a piece of blue glass as a sapphire
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pass off
When an obnoxious influencer (Zach Galifianakis, delightfully punchable) dies in a freak accident at her gallery, Polina decides to pass off his corpse as an exhibition centerpiece.
—
Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Refinery29, 28 Jan. 2026
Williams and Storrie, both in official white, pink and yellow fits, had their own moment as torchbearers, with Williams passing off the flame to Storrie.
—Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 25 Jan. 2026
After a campaign marred by clashes at opposition rallies, and what the United Nations said was widespread repression and intimidation, voting passed off peacefully on Thursday.
—Reuters, NBC news, 17 Jan. 2026
The tie ultimately passed off without much incident.
—Phil Hay, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pass off
Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Refinery29, 28 Jan. 2026
Williams and Storrie, both in official white, pink and yellow fits, had their own moment as torchbearers, with Williams passing off the flame to Storrie.
—Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 25 Jan. 2026
After a campaign marred by clashes at opposition rallies, and what the United Nations said was widespread repression and intimidation, voting passed off peacefully on Thursday.
—Reuters, NBC news, 17 Jan. 2026
The tie ultimately passed off without much incident.
—Phil Hay, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pass off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pass off
Verb
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But if the court of appeals wishes to hear oral arguments, the ruling will be issued later in the year.—
Rob Nikolewski,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
17 Feb. 2026
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This trend ignores the IOC’s initial reaction to Putin’s invasion, which, it should be acknowledged, was actually scheduled around the Beijing Winter Olympics, as Putin did not wish to offend the Chinese.—
Sean Strockyj,
New York Daily News,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Becket uses this time to take the guy through his entire life story (with some sizable, murder-free jumps notably missing), most of it hinging on that essential wound inflicted on him before he was born.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
18 Feb. 2026
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All the pain McCarthy had inflicted on people surfaced.—
Kristen Monroe,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Among the documents is an email exchange from 2009 in which Mandelson appears to discuss Britain’s plans to impose an additional tax on bankers’ bonuses as a punitive, one-off measure following the crash.—
Lauren Kent,
CNN Money,
19 Feb. 2026
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While courts last imposed a death sentence in 2016, South Korea has not carried out an execution since 1997.—
Michael Sinkewicz,
FOXNews.com,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The unique shape helps keep your palm off the table while offering a spot for your thumb to rest.—
Brenda Stolyar,
Wired News,
9 May 2025
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And there’s an art to delegating, without seemingly palming off work to your team.—
Orianna Rosa Royle,
Fortune,
2 Mar. 2023
Verb
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Your potential clients are terrified of being sold the dream then fobbed off to a junior team member.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
21 Aug. 2025
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While attempting to film his daughter's dance, Miguel Angel Michel, 66, couldn't control his feet and eventually fobbed off his phone altogether, earning 4.2 million views on TikTok.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 July 2025
Verb
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The school also posted a picture of the center, who reportedly has a 7-4 wingspan, palming two basketballs on the program’s website.—
Alex Valdes,
New York Times,
1 Jan. 2026
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Major League Baseball wagged a finger with one hand and palmed gate receipts and a new TV deal in the other.—
Jeremy Collins,
The Atlantic,
12 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pass off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pass%20off. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.
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