: the act of one that passes or causes to pass
especially
: death sense 1a
1
: going by or past
a passing pedestrian
2
: having a brief duration
a passing whim
3
obsolete
: surpassing
4
: superficial
a passing acquaintance
a passing resemblance
5
a
: of, relating to, or used in or for the act or process of passing
passing lanes
b
: given on satisfactory completion of an examination or course of study
a passing grade
: to a surpassing degree : exceedingly
passing strange
Synonyms
Noun
- curtains
- death
- decease
- demise
- dissolution
- doom
- end
- exit
- expiration
- expiry
- fate
- grave
- great divide
- passage
- quietus
- sleep
Adjective
- brief
- deciduous
- ephemeral
- evanescent
- flash
- fleeting
- fugacious
- fugitive
- impermanent
- momentary
- short-lived
- temporary
- transient
- transitory
Adverb
- achingly
- almighty
- archly
- awful
- awfully
- badly
- beastly
- blisteringly
- bone
- colossally
- corking
- cracking
- damn
- damned
- dang
- deadly
- desperately
- eminently
- enormously
- especially
- ever
- exceedingly
- exceeding
- extra
- extremely
- fabulously
- fantastically
- far
- fiercely
- filthy
- frightfully
- full
- greatly
- heavily
- highly
- hugely
- immensely
- incredibly
- intensely
- jolly
- majorly
- mightily
- mighty
- monstrous [chiefly dialect]
- mortally
- most
- much
- particularly
- rattling
- real
- really
- right
- roaring
- roaringly
- seriously
- severely
- so
- sore
- sorely
- spanking
- specially
- stinking
- such
- super
- supremely
- surpassingly
- terribly
- that
- thumping
- too
- unco
- uncommonly
- vastly
- very
- vitally
- way
- whacking
- wicked
- wildly
Examples of passing in a Sentence
Noun
After her husband's passing, she moved to a smaller house.
We all mourned his passing.
Adjective
Someone called out from a passing car.
She sells flowers to passing motorists.
Let's hope that these shoes are just a passing fad.
a passing phase in childhood
Adverb
a passing strange turn of events
Recent Examples on the Web
Hugh McIntyre, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
Even with these changes, Jones continued to support the next generation of artists until his passing.
—Jennifer Frederick, Billboard, 4 Nov. 2024
Simon Montlake, The Christian Science Monitor, 1 Nov. 2024
Acosta will be a passing and running force again, and the Cougars defense will shine.
—Steve Fryer, Orange County Register, 11 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for passing 
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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about these examples.
Noun
Eleven different collections by the producer—as an artist, that is—have returned to the 200-spot list since his passing was shared with the world.
—Hugh McIntyre, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
Even with these changes, Jones continued to support the next generation of artists until his passing.
—Jennifer Frederick, Billboard, 4 Nov. 2024
Adjective
But in the cacophony of a campaign in its final week, the tempest over endorsements felt like a holdover from a passing era of mass media consumption.
—Simon Montlake, The Christian Science Monitor, 1 Nov. 2024
Acosta will be a passing and running force again, and the Cougars defense will shine.
—Steve Fryer, Orange County Register, 11 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for passing
Dictionary Entries Near passing
Cite this Entry
“Passing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/passing. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
passing
1 of 2 noun
pass·ing
ˈpas-iŋ 
1
: the act of one that passes or causes to pass
2
passing
2 of 2 adjective1
: going by or past
the passing crowd
2
: lasting only for a short time
3
: used for the act or process of passing
the passing lane
4
: given on satisfactory completion of an examination or course of study
a passing grade
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