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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In January 2025, Lane posted a photo on Instagram of himself hugging Layla and wishing her a happy birthday.—
Jane LaCroix,
PEOPLE,
9 Jan. 2026
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Davie’s successor will inherit an organization wrestling with its place in a media ecosystem dominated by overseas tech giants, as well as battling enemies closer to home, with conservative politicians and media proprietors wishing to see the BBC diminished during charter renewal.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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They were also found liable for several other claims, including false imprisonment, battery and inflicting emotional distress on Maya, according to CourtTV, which live-streamed the decision.—
Sophie Dodd,
PEOPLE,
9 Nov. 2025
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He was acquitted of a misdemeanor count of inflicting injury on an elder adult.—
City News Service,
Oc Register,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Iranian authorities have responded by deploying numerous security forces, imposing internet blackouts and enforcing curfews in some areas in an effort to suppress the unrest.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
8 Jan. 2026
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Originally constructed to be a shopping mall, the imposing structure now serves as the headquarters of Venezuela’s intelligence services and a notorious prison.—
Uriel Blanco,
CNN Money,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Passing off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/passing%20off. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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