as in pretending
to present a false appearance of
in public they pass for being a loving couple, but in reality they are only friends
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for passing (for)
Verb
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And in Six Degrees of Separation (1993), Hurt played one of the New York socialites who falls into the web of deceit created by a charismatic young man (Will Smith) pretending to be the son of Sidney Poitier.—
Chris Koseluk,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Mar. 2026 -
But requiring all 3- or 4-year-olds to participate in a public preschool program or pretending that child care will produce better outcomes for all children doesn’t hold up to the data.—
Abby McCloskey,
Twin Cities,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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She and her son are seen posing in front of a mirror together, before Spears begins speaking in an English accent and seemingly simulating a humping motion while wearing tight shorts and a top that exposes her midsection.—
Brian Niemietz,
New York Daily News,
27 Mar. 2026
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In her experiment, McPherson and colleagues created a set-up holding human, mice and pig sperm cells in one part of the compartment and egg cells in the other, divided by a thin channel simulating the female reproductive tract.—
Tereza Pultarova,
Space.com,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The researchers suggest that future batteries may need to account for this dynamic behavior rather than assuming a stable internal structure.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
31 Mar. 2026
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Alfredo Delgadillo has been promoted to CEO & President, Universal Music Latin Entertainment, assuming oversight of Universal Music Latino in the United States, while continuing to lead Universal Music Mexico and the Regional Mexican label Fono.—
Jem Aswad,
Variety,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The cherry blossoms are opening & putting on a splendid spring spectacle.—
Amaris Encinas,
USA Today,
27 Mar. 2026
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Real America’s Music is putting on a show.—
Rob Crilly,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Passing (for).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/passing%20%28for%29. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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