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

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia should be worried about its parade, which will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, remarks that the Kremlin shrugged off. —Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Apr. 2025

Dumas also shrugged off dupes — this year’s Wirkin phenomenon comes to mind — as products a discerning client can recognize. —Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 30 Apr. 2025

Old Dominion sees opportunity in Amazon’s LTL push During its first-quarter earnings call, Old Dominion shrugged off concerns about competition from Amazon in the LTL space. —Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 24 Apr. 2025

Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images New York is finally shrugging off the reboot of winter that followed the one nice Saturday in March, and, for fashionistas, the arrival of spring means one thing: the Met Gala. —Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 15 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