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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Recent Examples of passing up
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
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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The documents included disciplinary information and reportedly showed that Sherrill was barred from walking at her 1994 graduation after refusing to inform on classmates involved in a cheating scandal.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
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The violations include student-athletes betting on and against their own teams, sharing information with third parties for purposes of sports betting, manipulating scoring or outcomes and/or refusing to participate in the investigation.—
Ryan Canfield,
FOXNews.com,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In a video obtained by the Sun, Perry also hinted at their connection while rejecting another mid-concert proposal from a fan.—
Ashley Hume,
FOXNews.com,
2 Nov. 2025
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The long-odds necessity, at this late hour, of rejecting Mamdani is thus not merely a municipal judgment for the Big Apple.—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Autophagy means detecting and removing cells that are declining in functional capacity and replacing them with new cells.—
Bryant Stamford,
Louisville Courier Journal,
6 Nov. 2025
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However, Gallup's polling also shows declining support among Republicans.—
Jason Lemon,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Born in Laurel, Mississippi, on November 29, 1935, Ladd was interested in acting from a young age, even turning down a college scholarship to pursue the craft.—
Alejandra Gularte,
Vulture,
3 Nov. 2025
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Inside the virtual reality world, patients can interact with other people, walk throughout the house party or bar, and even practice turning down an offer of alcohol or drugs.—
Ciara McCarthy,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Mayfield was 8 of 9 for 144 yards throwing over the middle against a defense that lost Warner on the second defensive series.—
Matt Barrows,
New York Times,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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And then — a half-inning after Rojas’ throw — almost the same scenario played out in the top of the 10th, with Andrés Giménez throwing out Mookie Betts to (for the time being) keep the Dodgers from taking the lead.—
Levi Weaver,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
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It has been played at multiple Dodger games, and Lamar is known for representing the city of Los Angeles, throwing out the first pitch at a Dodger game before and sporting their signature baseball cap.—
Nelson Espinal,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Passing up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/passing%20up. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
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