1
as in dismissed
to express scornfully one's low opinion of
most critics have already written off that director as a hack incapable of turning out anything but schlock
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in reduced
to diminish the price or value of
that one blunder will write off to nothing all the goodwill we've been building up
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of written off
Lam said that, just as California's Three Strikes law has changed, so has the idea that people should be locked up and written off.
—
John Ramos, CBS News, 18 May 2026
Mood changes can be written off as stress.
—Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 15 May 2026
In that world, he’s been written off as old, washed, and a bastion of a game that’s passed him by.
—Sam Blum, New York Times, 15 May 2026
The audience that’s been written off as fragmented when really it’s just been ignored.
—Daren Smith, IndieWire, 13 May 2026
What multiple doctors had written off as dry skin was, in fact, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that starts in white blood cells called T cells and primarily affects the skin, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
—Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 4 May 2026
And though the local history museum is nothing but artifacts of atrocities (old newspaper report of cannibalism, a murderer’s mask), only Wyck (Stephen Root, great as always) sees anything paranormal in it, and he’s generally written off as a drunk.
—Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2026
Per executives, Ganesh was written off for storyline purposes, leaving fans to mourn the beloved character.
—Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 25 Apr. 2026
For backlist titles, it is generally assumed that any major initial investment costs have already been recouped (or written off).
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 Apr. 2026
John Ramos, CBS News, 18 May 2026
Mood changes can be written off as stress.
—Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 15 May 2026
In that world, he’s been written off as old, washed, and a bastion of a game that’s passed him by.
—Sam Blum, New York Times, 15 May 2026
The audience that’s been written off as fragmented when really it’s just been ignored.
—Daren Smith, IndieWire, 13 May 2026
What multiple doctors had written off as dry skin was, in fact, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that starts in white blood cells called T cells and primarily affects the skin, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
—Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 4 May 2026
And though the local history museum is nothing but artifacts of atrocities (old newspaper report of cannibalism, a murderer’s mask), only Wyck (Stephen Root, great as always) sees anything paranormal in it, and he’s generally written off as a drunk.
—Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2026
Per executives, Ganesh was written off for storyline purposes, leaving fans to mourn the beloved character.
—Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 25 Apr. 2026
For backlist titles, it is generally assumed that any major initial investment costs have already been recouped (or written off).
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for written off
Verb
-
The arrest happened after students were dismissed for early release, according to a Plainfield School District Facebook post.—
Allison Kiehl,
Chicago Tribune,
24 May 2026
-
Among those inside the building was Ozgur Ozel, elected as party chairperson in November 2023 but dismissed by the court ruling.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
24 May 2026
Verb
-
Bayard has a point in critiquing the attitude which maintains that engagement with literature can basically be reduced to an itinerary.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 May 2026
-
The stadium typically operates at a capacity crowd of around 67,500 for NFL games, but that will be slightly reduced to approximately 65,827 for the World Cup.—
Elias Burke,
New York Times,
21 May 2026
Verb
-
Nothing can be written down, and no one can know everything, so much of the dialogue is a bewildering avalanche of codewords and code names.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
18 May 2026
-
Processes that had previously lived in people’s heads began to get written down.—
Shivaas Gulati,
Sportico.com,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
Left-hander Tanner Scott was called in to replace Treinen, and Stammen replaced the left-handed-hitting Sheets with Ramón Laureano, who sent a line drive to left field that Hernandez ran down in front of the wall to end the inning.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
20 May 2026
-
Happy tears ran down her face at what appeared to be a celebration for the couple, complete with cupcakes, balloons and a live band.—
Ashlyn Robinette,
PEOPLE,
19 May 2026
Verb
-
The Supreme Court unanimously annulled the firing in December, but this has sunk the country only further into a constitutional crisis.—
Bernard Avishai,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
Both ships are now sunk off the coast of Canada.—
Kerry Breen,
CBS News,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
But Rubio played down the issue.—
Lorne Cook,
Chicago Tribune,
22 May 2026
-
But Adcock initially played down expectations by noting that the Figure team was aiming for the robots to work for eight hours straight, whereas a previous Figure demo had lasted just one hour.—
Jeremy Hsu,
ArsTechnica,
20 May 2026
Verb
-
Others described feeling they were being talked down to.—
Rebecca Noel,
Charlotte Observer,
13 May 2026
-
Baldwin also said district custodians are understaffed, supplied with broken or old equipment, have been denied language interpreters during meetings and are in general talked down to by administrative staff.—
Addison Wright,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Written off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/written%20off. Accessed 26 May. 2026.
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