as in inflicted
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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Recent Examples of passed off
To diVittorio, the minimum lot sizes are too big — and therefore expensive; setbacks from streets are too broad, eating up buildable land; and sidewalk requirements are too costly, getting passed off to consumers.
—
Mark Dee
march 12, Idaho Statesman, 12 Mar. 2026
Earlier in the week, an Indian university was reportedly asked to leave the summit after a staff member passed off a robotic dog developed by Chinese company Unitree as one the university had developed.
—Jared Perlo, NBC news, 20 Feb. 2026
And even Lachlan, who shares his father’s paleo-conservative worldview and was therefore granted control of Fox News, ultimately had to accept that much of the Murdoch empire had been sold out from under him when Rupert passed off 20th Century Fox to Disney for $71 billion in 2019.
—The Week Us, TheWeek, 18 Feb. 2026
The tie ultimately passed off without much incident.
—Phil Hay, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2026
After Wembanyama converted an and-one fast-break lob from Stephon Castle, Mazzulla lifted Walsh and passed off that matchup to Baylor Scheierman.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 11 Jan. 2026
Winter can be hard, but the belief that everyone is sadder during the season may simply be folklore passed off as fact.
—Rafaela Jinich, The Atlantic, 1 Jan. 2026
Perez said at a Sunday night press conference that authorities identified the man via a tip — which the police chief said was passed off to the FBI — but the evidence obtained was ultimately insufficient to keep him.
—Max Rego, The Hill, 17 Dec. 2025
Throughout the case, Carnival’ attorneys maintained the cruise line wasn’t at fault and passed off blame to Rondon.
—Vinod Sreeharsha
september 22, Miami Herald, 22 Sep. 2025
Mark Dee
march 12, Idaho Statesman, 12 Mar. 2026
Earlier in the week, an Indian university was reportedly asked to leave the summit after a staff member passed off a robotic dog developed by Chinese company Unitree as one the university had developed.
—Jared Perlo, NBC news, 20 Feb. 2026
And even Lachlan, who shares his father’s paleo-conservative worldview and was therefore granted control of Fox News, ultimately had to accept that much of the Murdoch empire had been sold out from under him when Rupert passed off 20th Century Fox to Disney for $71 billion in 2019.
—The Week Us, TheWeek, 18 Feb. 2026
The tie ultimately passed off without much incident.
—Phil Hay, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2026
After Wembanyama converted an and-one fast-break lob from Stephon Castle, Mazzulla lifted Walsh and passed off that matchup to Baylor Scheierman.
—Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 11 Jan. 2026
Winter can be hard, but the belief that everyone is sadder during the season may simply be folklore passed off as fact.
—Rafaela Jinich, The Atlantic, 1 Jan. 2026
Perez said at a Sunday night press conference that authorities identified the man via a tip — which the police chief said was passed off to the FBI — but the evidence obtained was ultimately insufficient to keep him.
—Max Rego, The Hill, 17 Dec. 2025
Throughout the case, Carnival’ attorneys maintained the cruise line wasn’t at fault and passed off blame to Rondon.
—Vinod Sreeharsha
september 22, Miami Herald, 22 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for passed off
Verb
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Moss rejected that position, finding that the order nevertheless inflicted concrete harm and violated constitutional protections.—
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
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And if so, is this advantage proportionate to the harm inflicted on civilians and the environment?—
Mustafa Qadri,
CNN Money,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Meanwhile, those imposed under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 — intended to target specific imports that threaten national security — remain in place.—
Laya Neelakandan,
CNBC,
3 Apr. 2026
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Because the price hikes were found to be imposed without providing customers with valid justifications, the court ruled that the new prices are invalid and ordered Netflix to refund affected subscribers.—
Scharon Harding,
ArsTechnica,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The story that has been buried for generations, just like her mother has always wished.—
Danielle Parker,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
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Fans who no longer wished to attend were offered the option to claim a refund.—
Jessica Lynch,
Billboard,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Your potential clients are terrified of being sold the dream then fobbed off to a junior team member.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
21 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Passed off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/passed%20off. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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