passes off

present tense third-person singular of pass off
as in wishes
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 passes off If Clark does manage to get passes off, USC’s lockdown secondary has the chance to live up to the hype. Haley Sawyer, Oc Register, 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for passes off
Verb
  • To help illustrate the differences, consider a taxpayer in the top marginal tax bracket (22%) who wishes to save $100 for retirement.
    Nathan Goldman, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
  • While the defense remains solid, the offense needs to get back on track if the team wishes to have a strong campaign in 2025.
    Richard Pereira, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Yet the payoff on the other side is far less chilling due to a lack of emotional current, even as this film’s swan-song set piece imposes some nifty special effects and supernatural atmosphere.
    Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 11 Sep. 2025
  • What Pennsylvania lawmakers can do Since price caps don’t apply to all types of inhalers and asthma medication, states can pass legislation that imposes such caps, instead of relying solely on industry compliance.
    Ana Santos Rutschman, The Conversation, 9 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • But Venugopal points out that the lab study couldn’t capture the onslaught of enzymes, teeth gritting, and temperature variation that a real human mouth inflicts.
    Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, 25 Aug. 2025
  • Corporate crime and wrongdoing—pollution, dangerous products, financial fraud and scams, unsafe workplaces, and more—inflicts far more damage on people than street crime, whether measured by dollars, injuries, or lives.
    Robert Weissman, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Passes off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/passes%20off. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.

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