glossing (over)

verb

present participle of gloss (over)
1
as in explaining away
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 ignoring
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 glossing (over)
  1. explaining away
  2. ignoring
  3. excusing
  4. overlooking
  5. explaining
  6. forgiving
  7. justifying
  8. passing over
Verb
  • There was no explaining away a mistake like that.
    — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 15 May 2026
  • Offscreen, some fans accuse Wyle of explaining away or downplaying his fictional character’s cruelty, and of a constellation of other sins, including envy of his fellow actors’ credentials.
    — Scottie Andrew, CNN Money, 15 Apr. 2026
Definition of explaining away
Verb
  • October 06, 2026 Optimism isn’t about ignoring problems or pretending everything will work out.
    — Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business Review, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Sutskever is the moral center of the film and grows increasingly uncomfortable as Altman forges ahead with complicated AI models that have learned how to lie, willfully ignoring risks.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of ignoring
Verb
  • This story does not suggest that reconciliation requires forgetting the past or excusing harmful choices.
    — Ascend Agency, New York Daily News, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Unable to picture evil as anything other than devilish, critics accused Arendt of excusing the perpetrators and blaming the victims.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of excusing
Verb
  • The clubhouse would have a bar, restaurant, locker rooms and verandas overlooking the golf course and tennis courts.
    — Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Domaine Drouhin Oregon 2023 Arthur Chardonnay Dundee Hills Domaine Drouhin Oregon covers 235 acres in the Dundee Hills overlooking the Willamette Valley.
    — Mike DeSimone, Robb Report, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of overlooking
Verb
  • The rich collections do a great job of honoring visual traditions and explaining their connections to real people and real places.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Oct. 2026
  • China’s leading firms are still just approaching top US labs in capabilities, partly explaining their lack of transparency.
    — Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of explaining
Verb
  • Telluride’s ski area stretches across more than 2,000 acres, from wide, forgiving groomers to steep chutes and bowls, with the terrain climbing to 12,570 feet.
    — Jessica Chapel, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2026
  • The schedule is not forgiving — Texas and Georgia await; doormats Arkansas and South Carolina do not — and the Rebels could find themselves on the bubble, needing to point to LSU as a resume win.
    — Seth Emerson, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of forgiving
Verb
  • Leaders must continue testing whether the assumptions justifying the original decision still hold.
    — Eric Reicin, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • As the populist argument of the day went, industry leaders had proven reckless, justifying much greater federal control.
    — William R. Gruver, Fortune, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of justifying
Verb
  • The probability of a hurricane passing over any particular point is low, especially farther from the Mexican coast, since most Pacific hurricanes tend to stay closer to Mexico.
    — Nicholas Grondin, The Conversation, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Related Articles The board previously resolved to erect new buildings for the Latino Museum and the American Women’s History Museum, passing over Arts and Industries.
    — Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of passing over
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.

Browse Nearby Words

glossing
glossing (over)
gloss (over)
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Cite this Entry

“Glossing (over).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/glossing%20%28over%29. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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