as in refused
to show unwillingness to accept, do, engage in, or agree to
I must pass up the offer to be chairman of this event
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of passed up
The first time Helena Morrissey had a child, she was passed up for a promotion.
—
Katherine Fung, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
McAtamney’s lack of field goal range also played a part in this game because the Giants passed up attempts.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2025
The Oilers passed up countless quality chances at five-on-five and were seldom around the blue paint against the Devils.
—Daniel Nugent-Bowman, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
The year before, she had been passed up for the lead role in the movie adaptation of My Fair Lady, which went to Audrey Hepburn, pictured.
—Andrea Wurzburger, PEOPLE, 1 Oct. 2025
On both plays, Maye passed up safer choices — taking a sack and a checkdown — to scramble; chasing the type of extended play that had just rewarded him, but ultimately burned his team.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 23 Sep. 2025
Over one in ten report being passed up for a promotion or chance to get ahead because of their age.
—Helen Dennis, Oc Register, 14 Sep. 2025
Silksong just passed up yesterday’s 562,000 concurrent Steam playercount record, a stunning number for a $20 indie game, though obviously boosted by its mythological status after seven years of waiting from fans.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
He was passed up by most every FBS program coming out of Greenville High in Texas.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 5 Sep. 2025
Katherine Fung, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
McAtamney’s lack of field goal range also played a part in this game because the Giants passed up attempts.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2025
The Oilers passed up countless quality chances at five-on-five and were seldom around the blue paint against the Devils.
—Daniel Nugent-Bowman, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
The year before, she had been passed up for the lead role in the movie adaptation of My Fair Lady, which went to Audrey Hepburn, pictured.
—Andrea Wurzburger, PEOPLE, 1 Oct. 2025
On both plays, Maye passed up safer choices — taking a sack and a checkdown — to scramble; chasing the type of extended play that had just rewarded him, but ultimately burned his team.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 23 Sep. 2025
Over one in ten report being passed up for a promotion or chance to get ahead because of their age.
—Helen Dennis, Oc Register, 14 Sep. 2025
Silksong just passed up yesterday’s 562,000 concurrent Steam playercount record, a stunning number for a $20 indie game, though obviously boosted by its mythological status after seven years of waiting from fans.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
He was passed up by most every FBS program coming out of Greenville High in Texas.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 5 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for passed up
Verb
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Unlike his friends Fritz Lang and Marlene Dietrich, Gerron refused to leave Germany and was ultimately sent to the Theresienstadt (Terezin) Ghetto, along with many other cultural icons of his time.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
30 Jan. 2026
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In his news conference, Zverev refused to be drawn on his on-court outburst.—
Eduardo Tansley,
New York Times,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Earlier, Senate Democrats rejected Republican proposals to address their demands through an executive order or separate legislation, which would not require the existing measure to go back through the House.—
DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS,
Arkansas Online,
30 Jan. 2026
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Among other measures, the settlement stipulates that Columbia won't consider race in admissions, programming or hiring, will provide a demographic and academics breakdown of all rejected and admitted students, and will review its international admissions process.—
Bill Chappell,
NPR,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Bob Atrops hired a lawyer a week after Debe's body was found and declined to take a polygraph.—
Sarah Prior,
CBS News,
25 Jan. 2026
-
Market Performance The S&P 500 declined modestly last week.—
Bill Stone,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The Farmers Insurance Open begins Thursday morning at Torrey Pines, which means, at least for a few hours, the volume will be turned down on talk of the tournament’s future.—
Jay Posner,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
29 Jan. 2026
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His grandfather, Aba Goniondskis, turned down the role of Jewish police chief of the ghetto and was later killed by the Nazis.—
Livi Stanford,
Hartford Courant,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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On third-and-7, Fields threw over the middle to receiver Josh Reynolds for 6 yards, short of the first-down marker.—
Devon Henderson,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
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Though Brock Purdy threw over 300 yards in his return from injury, the Jaguars' defense caused five turnovers, including a strip sack that sealed the game in the fourth quarter.—
James Brizuela,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Per Assembly Bill 101 which passed in 2021, ethnic studies was supposed to be a graduation requirement for all California students in the class of 2030, those who would be entering high school in fall 2026.—
Karen Billing,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Jan. 2026
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The legislation passed the Senate in December and is awaiting approval in the House.—
Alexandra Skores,
CNN Money,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Banfield's at-times tense testimony comes after his attorney scrutinized the county's investigation into the defendant, arguing that officials, almost since the beginning, forced a theory that the husband had catfished and killed his wife, and ignored evidence that undermined that conclusion.—
OLIVIA DIAZ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
30 Jan. 2026
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Their position ignored the Ukrainian perspective on the issue, thus excluding Ukrainians as the affected party from understanding and communicating current and historical narratives.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Passed up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/passed%20up. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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