1
as in dismissed
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 reduced
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
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.
Recent Examples of written off
Lam said that, just as California's Three Strikes law has changed, so has the idea that people should be locked up and written off.
—
John Ramos, CBS News, 18 May 2026
Mood changes can be written off as stress.
—Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 15 May 2026
In that world, he’s been written off as old, washed, and a bastion of a game that’s passed him by.
—Sam Blum, New York Times, 15 May 2026
The audience that’s been written off as fragmented when really it’s just been ignored.
—Daren Smith, IndieWire, 13 May 2026
What multiple doctors had written off as dry skin was, in fact, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that starts in white blood cells called T cells and primarily affects the skin, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
—Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 4 May 2026
And though the local history museum is nothing but artifacts of atrocities (old newspaper report of cannibalism, a murderer’s mask), only Wyck (Stephen Root, great as always) sees anything paranormal in it, and he’s generally written off as a drunk.
—Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2026
Per executives, Ganesh was written off for storyline purposes, leaving fans to mourn the beloved character.
—Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 25 Apr. 2026
For backlist titles, it is generally assumed that any major initial investment costs have already been recouped (or written off).
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 Apr. 2026
John Ramos, CBS News, 18 May 2026
Mood changes can be written off as stress.
—Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 15 May 2026
In that world, he’s been written off as old, washed, and a bastion of a game that’s passed him by.
—Sam Blum, New York Times, 15 May 2026
The audience that’s been written off as fragmented when really it’s just been ignored.
—Daren Smith, IndieWire, 13 May 2026
What multiple doctors had written off as dry skin was, in fact, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that starts in white blood cells called T cells and primarily affects the skin, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
—Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 4 May 2026
And though the local history museum is nothing but artifacts of atrocities (old newspaper report of cannibalism, a murderer’s mask), only Wyck (Stephen Root, great as always) sees anything paranormal in it, and he’s generally written off as a drunk.
—Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2026
Per executives, Ganesh was written off for storyline purposes, leaving fans to mourn the beloved character.
—Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 25 Apr. 2026
For backlist titles, it is generally assumed that any major initial investment costs have already been recouped (or written off).
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for written off
Verb
-
That lawsuit was dismissed in December.—
Mark Puleo,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
-
For business leaders and investors, the May 20 vote should not be dismissed as symbolic diplomacy.—
Ingmar Rentzhog,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
Verb
-
Bayard has a point in critiquing the attitude which maintains that engagement with literature can basically be reduced to an itinerary.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 May 2026
-
The stadium typically operates at a capacity crowd of around 67,500 for NFL games, but that will be slightly reduced to approximately 65,827 for the World Cup.—
Elias Burke,
New York Times,
21 May 2026
Verb
-
Nothing can be written down, and no one can know everything, so much of the dialogue is a bewildering avalanche of codewords and code names.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
18 May 2026
-
Processes that had previously lived in people’s heads began to get written down.—
Shivaas Gulati,
Sportico.com,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
Witnesses saw the armed man run down the road toward Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital.—
JT Moodee Lockman,
CBS News,
14 May 2026
-
The 2023 crew, for instance, came back to win just 27 times and came back from multiple runs down just eight times.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
The Supreme Court unanimously annulled the firing in December, but this has sunk the country only further into a constitutional crisis.—
Bernard Avishai,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
Both ships are now sunk off the coast of Canada.—
Kerry Breen,
CBS News,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
The news came as BlackRock and JPMorgan played down fears of an AI bubble.—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
6 May 2026
-
Epstein’s private island Lutnick has played down his ties to Epstein, who was once his neighbor in New York City.—
Stephen Groves,
Chicago Tribune,
6 May 2026
Verb
-
Others described feeling they were being talked down to.—
Rebecca Noel,
Charlotte Observer,
13 May 2026
-
Baldwin also said district custodians are understaffed, supplied with broken or old equipment, have been denied language interpreters during meetings and are in general talked down to by administrative staff.—
Addison Wright,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Written off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/written%20off. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
