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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of passing up
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
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
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Most of the time, a child who is shoving at the playground or refusing to take turns with the blocks at daycare is just testing the boundaries of acceptable behavior.—
Melissa Willets,
Parents,
5 Feb. 2026
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The Clintons agreed to testify later this month after initially refusing and facing a potential contempt vote.—
Terry Collins,
USA Today,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Our family photographs depicted us in beauty, power and wholeness, rejecting every image that attempted to relegate us to a stereotype.—
Anya Sesay,
jsonline.com,
5 Feb. 2026
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Then last week, the agency published on its website the complete response letter detailing the FDA’s reasons for rejecting the drug.—
Adam Feuerstein,
STAT,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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According to the Iowa Cancer Registry, lung cancer incidence rates are declining slower in Iowa than in other states.—
Cami Koons,
Iowa Capital Dispatch,
5 Feb. 2026
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Measles-vaccination rates have been steadily declining for several years; since last January, the country has logged its two largest measles epidemics in more than three decades.—
Katherine J. Wu,
The Atlantic,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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When asked about the best techniques for defusing tense encounters while still maintaining the right to protect, civil rights advocates in Connecticut are generally recommending online training in turning down the heat on face-to-face encounters with ICE agents or counter-protestors.—
Don Stacom,
Hartford Courant,
3 Feb. 2026
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Torquing and turning down a mountain at 85 miles per hour without an ACL – its sole anatomical purpose is to connect the femur to the tibia and protect the bones from shifting – is, at best, not recommended and, at worst, slightly reckless.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
3 Feb. 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
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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
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Conservative appeals courts have signaled skepticism of some trial judges’ rulings, with appellate courts throwing out injunctions as overly broad and vague, suggesting judicial restraint regarding the scope of limitations on executive immigration authority.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Passing up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/passing%20up. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
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