passes off

Definition of passes offnext
present tense third-person singular of pass off
as in wishes
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of passes off If Clark does manage to get passes off, USC’s lockdown secondary has the chance to live up to the hype. Haley Sawyer, Oc Register, 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for passes off
Verb
  • The police dispatcher, who now wishes to remain anonymous, is a 22-year-old who's serving in the Navy Reserve.
    Matt Schooley, CBS News, 2 Mar. 2026
  • Miss Manners only wishes everyone would calm down.
    Judith Martin, Sun Sentinel, 24 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • Its across-the-board native cloud infrastructure and NVMe storage give it an edge over many conventional hosting providers, although HostArmada imposes stricter limits on storage, database sizes, and monthly data transfers as a trade-off.
    Gabriel Zamora, PC Magazine, 8 Mar. 2026
  • No country in the world imposes a pure graduate tax, though many use income-contingent loans.
    The Week UK, TheWeek, 1 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • If a minor fires the gun and inflicts harm on themselves or another individual, the person who failed to store the gun properly could face a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a maximum fine of $7,500, or both.
    Paula Wethington, CBS News, 5 Mar. 2026
  • Only if the Pac-12 collects three or four NCAA Tournament bids on a regular basis and a team not named Gonzaga or San Diego State inflicts damage in March Madness.
    Jon Wilner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Jan. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Passes off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/passes%20off. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.

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