shrug off

verb

shrugged off; shrugging off; shrugs off

transitive verb

1

: to shake off

shrugging off sleep

2

: to brush aside : minimize

shrugs off the problem

3

: to remove (a garment) by wriggling out

Synonyms

• blink (at)
• brush (aside or off)
• condone
• discount
• disregard
• excuse
• forgive
• gloss (over)
• gloze (over)
• ignore
• overlook
• overpass
• paper over
• pardon
• pass over
• remit
• whitewash
• wink (at)

Examples of shrug off in a Sentence

an administration that was willing to shrug off the problem

she shrugged off her coat and hung it up neatly

Recent Examples on the Web

Thomas Frank’s team have shrugged off the departure of free-scoring England striker Ivan Toney in August to Al Ahli of the Saudi Pro League, with Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa contributing 30 league goals between them (16 and 14). —Andy Naylor, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2025

Investors in Trump’s company initially shrugged off news of the tariffs, with shares declining just 1.9% on Thursday, compared to 4.8% for the S&P 500. —Dan Alexander, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025

In a big-money era, University of Illinois shrugs off rules on athletes’ NIL deals Illinois’ flagship university says rules requiring student-athletes to disclose NIL deals aren’t relevant In the wild west of today’s college sports. —Janie McCauley, Chicago Tribune, 7 Apr. 2025

Stock markets have plummeted, but the president has generally shrugged off the losses, noting markets go up and down. —Sarah Fortinsky, The Hill, 7 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1902, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for shrug off

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff

Kids Definition

shrug off

verb

1

: to brush aside as not important

2

: to take off (a garment) by wriggling out