as in refusing
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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of passing up
Redick pointed to Luka Doncic’s season-high 15 assists, which were lost in the noise of the Slovenian star passing up a potential game-winning 3-pointer.
—
Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 27 Feb. 2026
But Schottenheimer’s reason for frequently passing up field goals for touchdowns had some logic behind it.
—Tim Cowlishaw, Dallas Morning News, 27 Jan. 2026
Wembanyama has been passing up many reasonable 3-point looks in the preseason and only taking wide-open ones.
—Jared Weiss, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
Science scores were also mixed between grades, with 5th graders passing up 1%, 8th graders down 2% and high schoolers down 3%.
—Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
In fact, passing up the Chiefs is the team’s top challenge entering Harbaugh’s second season.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Sep. 2025
Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 27 Feb. 2026
But Schottenheimer’s reason for frequently passing up field goals for touchdowns had some logic behind it.
—Tim Cowlishaw, Dallas Morning News, 27 Jan. 2026
Wembanyama has been passing up many reasonable 3-point looks in the preseason and only taking wide-open ones.
—Jared Weiss, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
Science scores were also mixed between grades, with 5th graders passing up 1%, 8th graders down 2% and high schoolers down 3%.
—Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
In fact, passing up the Chiefs is the team’s top challenge entering Harbaugh’s second season.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for passing up
Verb
-
Tommy Thompson, a deep-sea explorer who spent more than a decade in federal custody for refusing to disclose the location of a cache of gold coins from a historic shipwreck, was released from prison.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
12 Mar. 2026
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Tommy Thompson, a research scientist who was imprisoned for a decade after refusing to disclose where an 1800s shipwreck's gold coins were being stored, was released, according to federal Bureau of Prisons records.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Some African governments are rejecting American health funding agreements over data and privacy concerns.—
Adrian Elimian,
semafor.com,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Saying no can feel a bit like rejecting the praise itself.—
Alexandra Emanuelli,
Southern Living,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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And the financial incentive for workers to take the leap to a new job has been steadily declining for years, as employees cling to their roles and hiring stagnates.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
12 Mar. 2026
-
For city officials, the agreement marks the most significant progress yet in their efforts to see the Sunrise Mall redeveloped from a declining retail center into a vibrant, mixed-use property with housing, entertainment and hotels.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
No one is turning down the heat.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2026
-
His 47 percent conversion rate on those attempts isn’t quite high enough to warrant turning down layups that could lead to three-point plays and put opponents into foul trouble.—
James L. Edwards III,
New York Times,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The zone-heavy Chargers forced Hurts to beat them by throwing over the middle — a region Hurts attacks half as often as his peers — and Hurts was inconsistent.—
Brooks Kubena,
New York Times,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Winter can be tough on houseplants, but don't go throwing out a dead-looking plant just yet.—
Alexandra Jones,
The Spruce,
21 Feb. 2026
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But talking loudly and throwing out numbers that give the impression of action without many of these actions taking place are not what a respectable leader does.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Passing up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/passing%20up. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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