as in palming off
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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Recent Examples of passing off
In the video, Prince Louis, the youngest son of Prince William and Princess Kate, can be seen holding the toy, before passing off the beaver masquerading as Santa Claus to his father.
—
Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Dec. 2025
One tactic smugglers use is passing off African greys as species that can still be legally exported, such as green and red-fronted parrots.
—Rene Ebersole, Rolling Stone, 18 Nov. 2025
New York City’s political power is officially passing off to the millennial generation.
—Jessica Coacci, Fortune, 6 Nov. 2025
Eleanor ends up passing off the story of Bessie surviving a concentration camp in Poland as her own.
—Dina Kaur, AZCentral.com, 25 Sep. 2025
The indictment also accused him of intentionally submitting checks drawn on insufficient funds and allegedly passing off another person’s Internet Movie Database Page as his own to convince one victim of his industry bona fides.
—Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2025
Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Dec. 2025
One tactic smugglers use is passing off African greys as species that can still be legally exported, such as green and red-fronted parrots.
—Rene Ebersole, Rolling Stone, 18 Nov. 2025
New York City’s political power is officially passing off to the millennial generation.
—Jessica Coacci, Fortune, 6 Nov. 2025
Eleanor ends up passing off the story of Bessie surviving a concentration camp in Poland as her own.
—Dina Kaur, AZCentral.com, 25 Sep. 2025
The indictment also accused him of intentionally submitting checks drawn on insufficient funds and allegedly passing off another person’s Internet Movie Database Page as his own to convince one victim of his industry bona fides.
—Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for passing off
Verb
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Anyone wishing to be a vendor at one of the Chicago CASE markets must apply annually, and must be a producer or creator of natural and handmade goods.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
26 Jan. 2026
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Most of the calls were short messages wishing him congratulations, but Vitello quickly learned La Russa intended this connection to be more than that.—
Evan Webeck,
Mercury News,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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After pulling back, Ukrainian units conduct a series of drone, mortar, and artillery strikes against their former position, inflicting heavy casualties on the Russian forces now occupying it.—
Vikram Mittal,
Forbes.com,
16 Jan. 2026
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Adding to that, the player inflicting the most damage was former Brentwood standout Shalen Sheppard.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In a settlement with McCourt — and to avoid the risk of the judge imposing a deal less favorable to the league — MLB agreed the fair-market value of a Dodgers TV deal would be based on the very Fox deal that Selig had rejected.—
Bill Shaikin,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
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The fire and brimstone nature of both fixtures, played in potentially imposing and intimidating stadiums, carries the risk of heightening the level of a player’s tension, in turn hindering their concentration or ability to follow a plan.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Passing off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/passing%20off. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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