1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

writes off

verb

present tense third-person singular of write off
1
as in dismisses
to express scornfully one's low opinion of most critics have already written off that director as a hack incapable of turning out anything but schlock

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in reduces
to diminish the price or value of that one blunder will write off to nothing all the goodwill we've been building up

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for writes off
  1. dismisses
  2. reduces
  3. minimizes
  4. writes down
  5. runs down
  6. diminishes
  7. plays down
  8. talks down
Verb
  • But Vicente dismisses global heating as the main reason for the fires that are ravaging Europe.
    — Chris Marshall-Bell, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Nobody clings to each other more firmly, defends their relationship more fiercely, or dismisses the opinions of the internet more authentically than Brinity.
    — Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of dismisses
Verb
  • Where appropriate, allowing patients to schedule routine appointments also reduces unnecessary back-and-forth with the practice.
    — Ajay Prasad, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Rather than mine the archive wholesale, Icons reduces recognizable Borgo signatures to their foundations, preserving the rigor while shifting their expression.
    — Thomas Waller, Footwear News, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of reduces
Verb
  • That dynamic undoubtedly minimizes the adjustment associated with staff upheaval.
    — Mitch Sherman, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • By preventing excess slack and eliminating interfering contours, the PBU minimizes collision risks across complex movement paths.
    — IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of minimizes
Verb
  • During these days, Jews believe the Book of Life is opened and that God writes down what their upcoming year will hold.
    — Bailey Allen, The Providence Journal, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Each player secretly writes down a guess, and players who pick correctly gets points equal to the number of players who guessed correctly.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of writes down
Verb
  • Underneath, the meat is white and the juice runs down along the side.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Take, for example, the watershed that runs down Clear Creek Canyon below Lookout Mountain, Mount Vernon and Rainbow Hill.
    — Megan Schrader, Denver Post, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of runs down
Verb
  • The governor’s effective yield to Harris diminishes the possibility of a showdown between two of California’s most powerful political figures in an election whose stakes are viewed by the Democratic Party as existential.
    — Justine McDaniel, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2026
  • If those are important to you, that diminishes the credit's value.
    — Jason Stauffer, CNBC, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of diminishes
Verb
  • If any lingering question of home-court advantage persisted, it was made crystal clear in the final 30 seconds who had the biggest backing, as Barclays erupted in celebration of the Liberty’s game-winning plays down the stretch.
    — Annie Costabile, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Wang plays down the potential for renegade robots to wreak havoc.
    — Charlie Campbell, Time, 23 July 2026
Definition of plays down
Verb
  • The movie goes from this weird, seedy love motel to the industrial backwaters, and these long walks and talks down empty streets.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 1 June 2026
  • The show never talks down to the audience.
    — Rachel DeSantis, PEOPLE, 6 Nov. 2025
Definition of talks down
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

writes down
writes off
writes up
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Writes off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/writes%20off. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of volition

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All