: 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
James Brewer, Forbes, 21 Dec. 2024
Since the rumors of Henderson’s passing began to surface late Friday night, A’s fans were left to cope with the seemingly incomprehensible notion that their Superman was gone.
—Melissa Lockard, The Athletic, 21 Dec. 2024
Mindy Lubber, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024
Because with each passing year, the reminders of the local news industry’s decline become more pronounced.
—Charles Ornstein, ProPublica, 18 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for passing 
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
Common Pitfalls to Avoid Delaying Estate Plan Updates: Many people neglect to update their estate plans after a spouse’s passing.
—James Brewer, Forbes, 21 Dec. 2024
Since the rumors of Henderson’s passing began to surface late Friday night, A’s fans were left to cope with the seemingly incomprehensible notion that their Superman was gone.
—Melissa Lockard, The Athletic, 21 Dec. 2024
Adjective
With each passing year, the potential for water stress to disrupt business and economic stability grows clearer.
—Mindy Lubber, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024
Because with each passing year, the reminders of the local news industry’s decline become more pronounced.
—Charles Ornstein, ProPublica, 18 Dec. 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 30 Dec. 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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