1
as in excused
to make (something) seem less bad by offering excuses
I don't want to gloss over her misbehavior, but keep in mind that she's been under a lot of stress lately
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in ignored
to dismiss as of little importance
this biographer tends to gloss over his subject's many character flaws
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for glossed (over)
Verb
-
Ahead of the process, Nussmeier’s father — who was excused by the Saints to spend time with his son on draft weekend — gave him some advice most rookies are likely to hear.—
PJ Green,
Kansas City Star,
1 May 2026 -
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers excused Musk from the witness stand Thursday, but he may be called back later.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The Colorectal Cancer Alliance's survey shows younger patients' symptoms often go ignored, delaying diagnosis and treatment.—
Yuki Noguchi,
NPR,
30 Apr. 2026
-
The Other Bennet Sister BritBox, May 6 Hadlow’s continuation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice imagines the fortunes of Mary Bennet, aka the boring (though not entirely ignored) one.—
Emily Temple,
Literary Hub,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Over the course of 25 minutes Breslow and Kennedy explained their decision to fire one of the most accomplished managers in franchise history after just 27 games this season and elevate Triple-A manager Chad Tracy to the big league role on an interim basis.—
Mac Cerullo,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Studley explained the biological process responsible for the lobster’s two-toned appearance.—
Hanna Wickes,
Kansas City Star,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
When cleaning the bathroom, the shower curtain liner sometimes gets overlooked.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
27 Apr. 2026
-
According to that outlet, the agreement was overlooked until after Michael was in production.—
Staff Author,
PEOPLE,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Gerrymanders that discriminate against Black voters could be justified today as merely offering partisan advantage to Republicans.—
Vann R. Newkirk II,
The Atlantic,
2 May 2026
-
Recent polling suggests that roughly 30% of young Americans hold the view that political violence can be justified in certain circumstances.—
Andrew Cuomo,
New York Daily News,
2 May 2026
Verb
-
Decadent art, with its mannerism, also its enthusiasm for skulls, swords, strippers, and other Hot Topic motifs, is for some art historians an embarrassing cul-de-sac best passed over in favor of a narrative of formal progress leading inevitably to abstraction.—
Olivia Kan-Sperling,
Artforum,
2 May 2026
-
The rule offers a real pathway for films passed over by their own countries’ submission committees.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
Production is either exalted or explained away.—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 Apr. 2026
-
The famed African American journalist investigated lynchings across the South and wrote about the savage incidents that the white press had already explained away.—
Case Thorp,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The island’s whitewashed, clifftop village offers romantic views of the Aegean Sea, and a steep, zig-zagging path climbs up the hillside to a church.—
Nicole Kliest,
Vogue,
23 Mar. 2026
-
Sterilized, whitewashed, controlled, censored – all those words apply.—
Jim Axelrod,
CBS News,
22 Mar. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Glossed (over).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/glossed%20%28over%29. Accessed 4 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
