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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Examples of pass off in a Sentence

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Recent Examples on the Web Details regarding the closing ceremony remain under lock-and-key, but one detail that is known is that Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo will be passing off the Olympic flag to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 1 Aug. 2024 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 See all Example Sentences for pass off 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pass off
Verb
  • These farm country voters wish presidential candidates paid them more attention.
    Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY, 5 Nov. 2024
  • Recommendations Executives who wish to harness the power of quantum computing sooner should consider the following: 1.
    Yuval Boger, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • The Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network, traveled to the Klamath last year for a series of stories about the damage inflicted by the dams and the work to restore wildlife habitat and ancestral homelands.
    Debra Utacia Krol, USA TODAY, 5 Nov. 2024
  • Even in its only domestic defeat of the season - a 4-2 loss to Osasuna - Barca got on the scoresheet twice, and there have been goal-heavy thrashings inflicted on the likes of Valladolid (7-0), Girona (1-4), Villarreal (1-5), Alaves (0-3), Sevilla (5-1), Real Madrid (0-4) and now Espanyol (3-1).
    Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • Then, in 1986, Congress passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), which increased border enforcement, imposed penalties on employers who hired undocumented people, and legalized some three million undocumented people, including many Californians.
    Eladio B. Bobadilla / Made by History, TIME, 5 Nov. 2024
  • Arriving via the gorgeous gardens of Grosvenor Square, my partner and I oohed and aahed at the imposing marble, opulent chandeliers and old-world glamour of the hotel lobby.
    Caroline Dolby, theweek, 5 Nov. 2024
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
  • Even his tattoos are a conspicuous map of his touchstones: a portrait of Stevie Wonder, a hand palming a basketball printed with THE WORLD IS YOURS, an illustration related to the 1976 blaxploitation film The Human Tornado.
    Connor Garel, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2024
  • This is not Boban Marjanović fully palming Keanu Reeves’s head in John Wick 3.
    Vikram Murthi, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near pass off

Cite this Entry

“Pass off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pass%20off. Accessed 19 Nov. 2024.

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