as in refuses
to show unwillingness to accept, do, engage in, or agree to
I must pass up the offer to be chairman of this event
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Recent Examples of passes up
Tampa Bay passes up on a few top edge rushers here (Miami’s Akheem Mesidor and Auburn’s Keldric Faulk) because of the depth at the position and instead nabs McCoy before a few other corner-needy teams.
—
Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 23 Apr. 2026
And because Amazon never passes up an opportunity to throw a good sale, members just got extra lucky.
—Jasmine Gomez, Travel + Leisure, 15 Mar. 2026
McVay passes up the field goal and Stanford throws incomplete again.
—Tim Cowlishaw, Dallas Morning News, 27 Jan. 2026
Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 23 Apr. 2026
And because Amazon never passes up an opportunity to throw a good sale, members just got extra lucky.
—Jasmine Gomez, Travel + Leisure, 15 Mar. 2026
McVay passes up the field goal and Stanford throws incomplete again.
—Tim Cowlishaw, Dallas Morning News, 27 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for passes up
Verb
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The play is dominated by Lithgow’s towering portrait of the artist as a weary old giant who refuses to concede an inch of ground.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2026
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Others rely on patience, research, and the fact that the ground itself refuses to be reduced to one easy headline.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In an oppositional reading, the reader understands the dominant ideology expressed in the text but rejects it and interprets the text in an alternative way.—
Shepherd Mpofu,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
27 Apr. 2026
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And with its bare Instagram presence, Antigone rejects polish for rawness, allowing the strength of its curation to speak for itself.—
Kat Chen,
Condé Nast Traveler,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The Bears are looking for tax breaks and incentives, but all that will do the Bears no good if part of their fan support declines.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Apr. 2026
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The lottery will also assign waitlist positions to the remaining students in tier 2 and below if a student declines the funding.—
Mateo Rosiles,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Passes up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/passes%20up. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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