as in to wish
to offer (something fake, useless, or inferior) as genuine, useful, or valuable
the con man tried to pass off a piece of blue glass as a sapphire
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pass off
Although easily passed off as small and insignificant, such perks have long been valued by staff at United.
—
Adam Crafton, The Athletic, 24 Feb. 2025
The pooch was initially passed off to the 1st Precinct and then brought to the East Harlem location of the Animal Care Centers of NYC.
—Ellen Moynihan, New York Daily News, 2 Apr. 2025
Urine testing is susceptible to drug users passing off clean urine from a third party as their own.
—Steve Banker, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2025
Focus on the glass balls, pass off the plastic balls and let the rubber balls bounce.
—Jay Gauthier Jr., Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pass off
Adam Crafton, The Athletic, 24 Feb. 2025
The pooch was initially passed off to the 1st Precinct and then brought to the East Harlem location of the Animal Care Centers of NYC.
—Ellen Moynihan, New York Daily News, 2 Apr. 2025
Urine testing is susceptible to drug users passing off clean urine from a third party as their own.
—Steve Banker, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2025
Focus on the glass balls, pass off the plastic balls and let the rubber balls bounce.
—Jay Gauthier Jr., Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pass off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pass off
Verb
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For Moss’ character, June Osborne, being stripped of all agency left her curled on a closet floor wishing for the end of her life.—
Trish Deitch,
Variety,
8 Apr. 2025
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Jon Rahm, the 2023 Masters champion and one of the biggest names on LIV Golf, wishes that a merger were closer but is also not ready to dwell on that during the first major of the season.—
Gordon G. Chang,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The first is to facilitate fraud or compromise a network, and the second is to inflict harm on a company's reputation or brand.—
Jim Richberg,
Forbes,
24 Mar. 2025
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Most of the damage Russia inflicts on Ukraine, however, is caused by cruise missiles that can be intercepted with European arms, such as SAMP/T and IRIS-T missiles, and most Russian ballistic missile strikes are against targets that are not defended by Patriots.—
Jack Watling,
Foreign Affairs,
24 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Trump defended his decision to impose tariffs, saying that the trade situation with U.S. partners was unsustainable and that someone needed to act.—
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Apr. 2025
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Pharmaceutical stocks fell earlier on Wednesday on Trump’s comments a day earlier that doubled down on plans to impose pharmaceutical-specific tariffs.—
Annika Kim Constantino,
CNBC,
9 Apr. 2025
Verb
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And there’s an art to delegating, without seemingly palming off work to your team.—
Orianna Rosa Royle,
Fortune,
2 Mar. 2023
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Giannoli’s narrator lays out press performance in Balzacian details that sound absolutely contemporary: News, debate, and ideas had become goods to palm off on subscribers.—
Armond White,
National Review,
10 June 2022
Verb
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But despite previous transparency around the cost-cutting measures, employees inquiring about how the budget cuts have impacted their performance review will now be fobbed off.—
Orianna Rosa Royle,
Fortune,
29 Aug. 2023
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Most chose instead to fob off the hard decisions to central bankers.—
William Pesek,
Forbes,
10 Sep. 2021
Verb
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Slicing this way makes the lemons easier to palm.—
Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott,
Southern Living,
27 Feb. 2025
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Both teams threatened with Mikel Merino’s header palmed away by Matz Sels and David Raya denying Chris Wood at the other end.—
James McNicholas,
The Athletic,
26 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pass off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pass%20off. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.
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