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
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Examples of pass off in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The siege of civilians and other war crimes must not be passed off in euphemisms.
—
Annie Sparrow, Foreign Affairs, 11 Jan. 2017
Once on the ground, Jason & Co. learn that Drew has a side hustle, training the SOGs on the side (passing off Rambo movie moves as non-standard SEAL tactics).
—Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 12 Aug. 2024
Lake tried to pass off her hostility to McCain as a joke earlier this year, sparking another round of anger from McCain’s daughter Meghan McCain.
—Ronald J. Hansen, The Arizona Republic, 5 Aug. 2024
In January, officials carried out raids at 50 restaurants in Rome and found seed oil being passed off as extra virgin olive oil.
—Barbie Nadeau, CNN, 11 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for pass off 
Annie Sparrow, Foreign Affairs, 11 Jan. 2017
Once on the ground, Jason & Co. learn that Drew has a side hustle, training the SOGs on the side (passing off Rambo movie moves as non-standard SEAL tactics).
—Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 12 Aug. 2024
Lake tried to pass off her hostility to McCain as a joke earlier this year, sparking another round of anger from McCain’s daughter Meghan McCain.
—Ronald J. Hansen, The Arizona Republic, 5 Aug. 2024
In January, officials carried out raids at 50 restaurants in Rome and found seed oil being passed off as extra virgin olive oil.
—Barbie Nadeau, CNN, 11 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for pass off
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pass off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Pass off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pass%20off. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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