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
Most general manager candidates cannot afford to be picky, especially those on the older end of the spectrum who have been passed up for previous jobs.
—
Alec Lewis, New York Times, 6 May 2026
Origin In 1976 Mattel passed up the opportunity to become the exclusive producer of Star Wars toys, which went on to become multimillion-dollar bestsellers.
—Sanat Pai Raikarall, Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 May 2026
The team passed up Oregon’s Dillon Thienemen for Freeling in the first round, and Morgan decided to wait until the fifth round to dial up a safety for selection.
—Charlotte Observer, 27 Apr. 2026
Flea markets offer one-of-a-kind finds that are hard to replace if passed up.
—Tessa Cooper, The Spruce, 25 Apr. 2026
The veteran winger passed up a one-timer with the extra man about five minutes into the third period.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 24 Apr. 2026
Retaliation can include being assigned to a station far from home, passed up for promotions or labeled a troublemaker.
—Alene Tchekmedyian, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2026
Edwards turned the ball over with 31 seconds left and Christian Braun got fouled at the other end after Jokic passed up a floater to tie it.
—CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026
The ancient Greeks, who rarely passed up a good soak, were among the first to seek self-care in the island's plentiful thermal springs.
—Elizabeth Heath, Travel + Leisure, 31 Mar. 2026
Alec Lewis, New York Times, 6 May 2026
Origin In 1976 Mattel passed up the opportunity to become the exclusive producer of Star Wars toys, which went on to become multimillion-dollar bestsellers.
—Sanat Pai Raikarall, Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 May 2026
The team passed up Oregon’s Dillon Thienemen for Freeling in the first round, and Morgan decided to wait until the fifth round to dial up a safety for selection.
—Charlotte Observer, 27 Apr. 2026
Flea markets offer one-of-a-kind finds that are hard to replace if passed up.
—Tessa Cooper, The Spruce, 25 Apr. 2026
The veteran winger passed up a one-timer with the extra man about five minutes into the third period.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 24 Apr. 2026
Retaliation can include being assigned to a station far from home, passed up for promotions or labeled a troublemaker.
—Alene Tchekmedyian, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2026
Edwards turned the ball over with 31 seconds left and Christian Braun got fouled at the other end after Jokic passed up a floater to tie it.
—CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026
The ancient Greeks, who rarely passed up a good soak, were among the first to seek self-care in the island's plentiful thermal springs.
—Elizabeth Heath, Travel + Leisure, 31 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for passed up
Verb
-
The stories below belong to 13 Black women who refused to be reduced to a statistic.—
Ayren Jackson-Cannady,
SELF,
29 May 2026
-
Allen refused to unload the bike, which weighed roughly 300 pounds, according to court records.—
Rose Evans
Updated May 29,
Idaho Statesman,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
New Hampshire, which rejected the DNC’s plan, held a leadoff primary ahead of South Carolina anyway, and Biden — who didn’t campaign or have his name on the ballot — still won by a sizable margin after supporters mounted a write-in campaign on his behalf.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 May 2026
-
Voters rejected a state ballot proposal in 1998 to legalize the prescription of lethal medication to help terminally ill, competent, informed adults commit suicide in Michigan, with 71% voting against the initiative.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
Enrollment declined the past two years at DU after years of growth, Rinehart said.—
Elizabeth Hernandez,
Denver Post,
31 May 2026
-
When asked about her challenging Qualls in a primary, her campaign declined to comment Saturday.—
Jimmy Lovrien,
Twin Cities,
31 May 2026
Verb
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But by Wednesday night, two artists had already backed out of or turned down the opportunity.—
Kathryn Watson,
CBS News,
28 May 2026
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Reck has turned down multiple offers to move to Silicon Valley since the site launched in 2009 because Europe has clear advantages.—
Diane Brady,
Fortune,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
That kid threw over-powering heat, but not nearly like this ox.—
Joe Kinsey OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
14 May 2026
-
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
Verb
-
Certainly not that of artists; over the last twenty years, the gatekeeping function has passed from critics to curators to a few major dealers to collectors themselves.—
Katy Siegel,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
-
According to county officials cited by WIBC, Habib also passed the federal E-Verify employment-authorization check during onboarding.—
Alexandra Koch , Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
1 June 2026
Verb
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Although the military initially ignored it, the principle later became foundational to spread-spectrum wireless communication technologies used in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and modern secure communications.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
28 May 2026
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Then, the cries of Ginny’s baby are a major wake-up call for the couple that can’t be ignored.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
28 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Passed up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/passed%20up. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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