pass off

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

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.
Recent Examples of pass off In the first half, Benjamin passed off to open teammates whenever he was double-teamed, but the shots weren’t falling. Lou Ponsi, Orange County Register, 12 Feb. 2025 As for Dexter, he’s forced into a minor plot detour to draw blood, inadvertently giving up two pints himself (one because Clark has had an HIV exposure and needs to pass off someone else’s blood as his own, and the other because Masuka corners Dexter into donating). Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2025 Researchers found a significant number of the restaurants were passing off their shrimp as locally sourced, even though they were grown on foreign farms and imported to the U.S. Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY, 29 Jan. 2025 In the third period, Pettersson hit Boeser with a sweet east-west pass off the rush. Harman Dayal, The Athletic, 3 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for pass off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pass off
Verb
  • In March 2022, the Halloween star wished her daughter, Ruby, a happy birthday on Instagram and called for the protection of trans rights in the United States.
    Abby Monteil, Them, 3 Mar. 2025
  • Vatican officials can be faithful to the highest standards of their religion, truly wishing to serve the church and the common good of humanity.
    Daniel Speed Thompson, The Conversation, 3 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • European states are already some of the highest spending in the world and that gives them little option for extra spending without inflicting severe pain.
    Dan Perry, Newsweek, 1 Mar. 2025
  • Wall Street has been hoping the threats are merely leverage that Trump will use to negotiate with other countries before ultimately inflicting less pain on the economy than feared.
    Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • The department said export control laws did not impose such restrictions.
    Luc Cohen, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2025
  • Trump had promised to retake the Panama Canal and to possibly acquire Greenland, imposed a barrage of tariffs, fired more than a dozen inspectors general and federal prosecutors, suggested shutting down FEMA, halted global land-mine-clearance programs, and ordered migrants to Guantánamo Bay.
    Antonia Hitchens, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • And there’s an art to delegating, without seemingly palming off work to your team.
    Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 2 Mar. 2023
  • 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
  • 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
  • Most chose instead to fob off the hard decisions to central bankers.
    William Pesek, Forbes, 10 Sep. 2021
Verb
  • His stunning, one-handed outlet passes — often completed in a single fluid motion, without ever bringing the ball below his shoulders after palming the rebound — resemble water polo passes.
    Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 16 Feb. 2025
  • Research shows that palming may have a vasodilatory (blood vessel widening) effect on episcleral veins (the veins within the outermost layer of the sclera, the white part of the eye).3 To perform the palming exercise, start by washing your hands.
    Laura Schober, Health, 12 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Pass off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pass%20off. Accessed 6 Mar. 2025.

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