SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
dismissive
adjective
Treating someone or something as unworthy of serious consideration.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Giving little consideration
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topOffhand can be casual without contempt; dismissive actively discounts someone or something.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See dismissive in use
His dismissive reply ended the conversation before she could explain.
During preparations for a local exhibition, the temporary director adopted an autocratic approach, making every decision without allowing discussion. His cavalier treatment of deadlines concerned the volunteers, who had already arranged time off. When one person described the difficulty, his dismissive reply was that everyone worried too much.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license