dismissal
Americannoun
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an act or instance of dismissing.
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the state of being dismissed.
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a spoken or written order of discharge from employment, service, enrollment, etc.
noun
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an official notice of discharge from employment or service
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the act of dismissing or the condition of being dismissed
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of dismissal
Explanation
The act of sending someone away or firing them is dismissal. Your friend's dismissal from the pizza place where he kept dropping the dough on the floor means he's looking for a new job — preferably not in food service. When a school bell rings at the end of the day, signaling that students can leave, that's one kind of dismissal. Bad news from a boss that the company is laying you off is also a dismissal, and when a judge rules that a trial is over and the case has been dropped, it's yet another kind of dismissal. The word comes from dismiss, "send away," from the Latin root dimittere, "send different ways" or "break up."
Vocabulary lists containing dismissal
List 3
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List 6
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Legal Lingo, List 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Dismissal with prejudice, meaning prosecutors cannot charge the men again, “will serve the interests of justice,” Rosen wrote in a court filing.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026
Dismissal used to be a free-for-all — once the final bell rang, students would rush outside to find their bus or ride or to begin the walk home.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 2, 2026
Dismissal at Arsenal had left a bitter taste in the mouth, but also the overwhelming feeling that he still had unfinished business in the Premier League.
From BBC • Nov. 1, 2025
Since 1972, the Dismissal Without Disciplinary Action Act has allowed the government to dismiss any public employee considered a threat to state security.
From Reuters • Jul. 12, 2021
It began: Dear Reggie, Ed and Mary Jane: Just for your files, enclosed you will find a copy of the Order of Dismissal.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
