passing up

verb

present participle of pass up
as in refusing
to show unwillingness to accept, do, engage in, or agree to I must pass up the offer to be chairman of this event

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 passing up The Emmys’ producers passing up on even the slightest possibility of a Werner Herzog acceptance speech is sheer lunacy. — Joe Reid, Vulture, 20 June 2026 The Supreme Court is staying out of a case about whether the Catholic Church misled parishioners about the purpose of an annual collection, passing up a chance to probe the independence churches have from government interference. — Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 26 May 2026 Simpson was back in Los Angeles for the first time since April 24, the day after the seemingly Super Bowl-ready Rams surprised many by passing up the opportunity to select a receiver to choose an Alabama quarterback with only 15 starts. — Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2026 But Belchetz, though imperfect, is a bit of a unicorn that teams will have a tough time passing up on in this range. — Scott Wheeler, New York Times, 7 May 2026 Charles compared people passing up investing in Amazon to how many publishers turned down the now wildly popular Harry Potter books. — Kevin Liptak, CNN Money, 28 Apr. 2026 Meanwhile, Nazem Kadri is passing up shots and sometimes looks uncomfortable gripping his stick right now. — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 24 Apr. 2026 During the costly possession when the Rebels let the shot clock expire with 41 seconds left, Thienou surprised her coach by passing up a shot while the crowd was roaring and clearly distracting the visitors. — CBS News, 22 Mar. 2026 Redick pointed to Luka Doncic’s season-high 15 assists, which were lost in the noise of the Slovenian star passing up a potential game-winning 3-pointer. — Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 27 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for passing up
  1. refusing
  2. rejecting
  3. declining
  4. turning down
  5. throwing over
  6. throwing out
Verb
  • Now a new report on the fallout from the investigation into that flyover is rattling the Defense Department and could lead to further delay in replacing the Army leader ousted for refusing to kill the probe.
    — Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026
  • After slowly changing the theatrical underworld as the king of midnight movies, Curry spent the rest of his acting career gleefully refusing to be pinned down.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of refusing
Verb
  • The Assembly plan calls for rejecting the governor’s cap on certain damages that people can receive.
    — Stephen Hobbs, Sacbee.com, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The council would have the final say in approving — or rejecting — Lucas’ nomination.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of rejecting
Verb
  • The Little Rock School District faces declining enrollment and financial challenges.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The cliff bee population is declining due to overharvesting, habitat destruction and climate change.
    — Prayan Pokharel, The Conversation, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of declining
Verb
  • Tucker entered last offseason as the consensus top free agent after turning down a qualifying offer from the Chicago Cubs.
    — Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026
  • After all, the billionaire founder lived a whirlwind of a career, turning down lucrative job offers and weathering professional rejection before ultimately launching one of the world’s biggest biotech companies.
    — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of turning down
Verb
  • Tatis dealt with Patrick throwing over twice, and catcher Gary Sánchez snapping off a pickoff throw.
    — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Later in the inning, though the run would have likely scored anyway, the usually strong relay combination of center fielder Andy Pages and Betts ended with Betts throwing over catcher Ben Rortvedt.
    — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of throwing over
Verb
  • This included a fake product placement for the sauce in an episode of Bosch and one of the actors throwing out the first pitch at a minor league baseball game.
    — Peter White, Deadline, 21 Aug. 2026
  • How much are fines for throwing out needles improperly in NYC?
    — Amethyst Martinez, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of throwing out

Browse Nearby Words

passings
passing up
pass (into)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Passing up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/passing%20up. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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