brush (aside or off)

verb

Definition of brush (aside or off)next
as in to ignore
to dismiss as of little importance brushed off their complaints as the whining of people who were never satisfied

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for brush (aside or off)
  1. ignore
  2. forgive
  3. overlook
  4. explain
  5. paper over
  6. justify
  7. pardon
Verb
  • Wallen briefly hugged the actress but seemed to ignore the rest of the cast and quickly walked past view of the camera.
    — Jay Stahl, USA Today, 18 Apr. 2025
  • Get best-in-class reporting that's too important to ignore for just $2.50 $1 per month for 1 year.
    — Louryn Strampe, Wired News, 18 Apr. 2025
Definition of ignore
Verb
  • Fans have not forgiven him for trading a global superstar in the prime of his career.
    — Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 10 Apr. 2025
  • The elastic waistband is forgiving (especially post-resort buffet), and the wide legs allow airflow, even in hot climates.
    — Becca Blond, Travel + Leisure, 13 Apr. 2025
Definition of forgive
Verb
  • Ammos Greek With a terrace overlooking JBR Beach and Bluewaters Island, Ammos Greek, at Rixos Premium Dubai JBR, boasts a chic dining ambiance brimming with Aegean coastal charm.
    — Natasha Amar, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025
  • Makeshift tents fill the crammed courtyard, the solid edifice of the church overlooking the flimsy havens.
    — CNN’s Abeer Salman and Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 23 Apr. 2025
Definition of overlook
Verb
  • The reason for the independence, the Brookings Institution explains, is that politicians tend to want lower interest rates because lower rates stimulate the economy.
    — Daniel de Visé, USA Today, 21 Apr. 2025
  • If yes, please explain: Only at the misdemeanor level.
    — Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Apr. 2025
Definition of explain
Verb
  • Duke’s stream of long, tall, NBA-ready standouts smothered Alabama and papered over Cooper Flagg’s rough shooting night to lift the Blue Devils to the program’s 18th Final Four with an 85-65 victory Saturday night in the NCAA Tournament’s East Region final.
    — Eddie Pells, Chicago Tribune, 30 Mar. 2025
  • Episode capped intense lobbying effort by American allies The stunning episode in Washington had capped a week of what turned out to be largely futile efforts by U.S. allies to paper over differences between Washington and Kyiv and to try to steer Trump away from his flirtations with Moscow.
    — Zeke Miller, The Denver Post, 1 Mar. 2025
Definition of paper over
Verb
  • The myth that trans women are a danger to cis women is a grossly transphobic stereotype with almost no real-world justification, but Rowling pins most of her anti-trans arguments on it, using her experience as a survivor of domestic abuse to justify her prejudice.
    — Aja Romano, Vox, 18 Apr. 2025
  • The funding freezes and cuts have been imposed before the completion of full investigations, and different legal rationales have been offered to justify them.
    — Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025
Definition of justify
Verb
  • Newsom received approval from the California Supreme Court to pardon Penry, a requirement when someone has more than one felony conviction.
    — Taryn Luna, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2025
  • While Hunter Biden was convicted on the gun charges and pleaded guilty on the tax charges, his father ultimately pardoned him.
    — Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, 11 Apr. 2025
Definition of pardon
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

brush
brush (aside or off)
brushed
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Brush (aside or off).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brush%20%28aside%20or%20off%29. Accessed 26 Apr. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

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!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Words in Disguise: Do these seem familiar?

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Every Letter Is Silent, Sometimes: A-Z List of Examples
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

'Blue Moon,' 'Wolf Moon,' and Other Moons to Look for Throughout the Year

10 Scrabble Words Without Any Vowels
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
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 Word Game 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?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All