dismiss
Americanverb (used with object)
-
dismisses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dismissed,
past participle, past
-
dismissing
present participle
-
to direct (an assembly of persons) to disperse or go.
I dismissed the class early.
-
to bid or allow (a person) to go; give permission or a request to depart.
- Antonyms:
- recall
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to discharge or remove, as from office or service.
to dismiss an employee.
- Synonyms:
- fire
- Antonyms:
- hire
-
to discard or reject.
to dismiss a suitor.
- Antonyms:
- accept
-
to put off or away, especially from consideration; put aside; reject.
She dismissed the story as mere rumor.
-
to have done with (a subject) after summary treatment.
After a perfunctory discussion, he dismissed the idea.
-
Law. to put out of court, as a complaint or appeal.
verb
-
to remove or discharge from employment or service
-
to send away or allow to go or disperse
-
to dispel from one's mind; discard; reject
-
to cease to consider (a subject)
they dismissed the problem
-
to decline further hearing to (a claim or action)
the judge dismissed the case
-
cricket to bowl out (a side) for a particular number of runs
Synonym Usage
See release.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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predismissverb (used with object)
-
redismissverb (used with object)
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dismissibleadjective
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dismissiveadjective
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undismissedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
dismisssimple
-
dismissessimple
-
have dismissedperfect
-
has dismissedperfect
-
am dismissingprogressive
-
are dismissingprogressive
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is dismissingprogressive
-
have been dismissingperfect progressive
-
has been dismissingperfect progressive
Past
-
dismissedsimple
-
had dismissedperfect
-
was dismissingprogressive
-
were dismissingprogressive
-
had been dismissingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dismiss
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Medieval Latin dismissus, from Latin dīmissus “sent away,” past participle of dīmittere “to send away,” from Latin dī, variant of dis- dis- 1 + mitt(ere) “to let go, send”
Explanation
At the end of a lesson period, your teacher says, "class dismissed." This means that you and the rest of the students are free to go. Dismiss means to let go. If a judge dismisses a case, it means he's saying it has no merit, and is throwing it out of court. If you are dismissed from your job, it means you've been fired. And if you've been ignoring your friends' warnings that your boyfriend is cheating, you've been dismissing their concerns. "Don't dismiss me!" is something you say when the person you're talking to is not taking you and your comments seriously.
Vocabulary lists containing dismiss
Send a Message: Mit and Miss
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Warm-up, List 1
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Nothing But the Truth
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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.
See Examples For:
This explains why my brain reflexively associated Ritchson’s latest work in a movie classic cinema buffs would likely dismiss as trash, with one of the greatest performers of early 20th century cinema.
From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026
Dame Uta says it's "just wrong" to dismiss her like this.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
“Not to dismiss the threats — the threats are real — but the more we talk about them, the more we scare voters,” Alexander said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
In August 2024 he rejected a motion to dismiss a private suit against Harvard, writing, “the facts as pled show that Harvard failed its Jewish students.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
“Now get in there and be sweet as molasses to Mrs. Caruthers, and pray she doesn’t dismiss you for your negligence.”
From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland
She dismisses some research papers on it as "absolutely poor quality".
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
He dismisses the theory, also put forward by the KWS, that the cyanide might have come from a type of foliage, noting local livestock would have died as well.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
Genis, who is a Social Democrat elected to Bern city council, dismisses these arguments as scapegoating.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
Claire’s hum comes out of nowhere, and while no one quite dismisses her as a “hysteric,” stress and anxiety are offered as diagnoses, to her immense irritation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
He dismisses Jake, who glances at me, the distress clear in his eyes, and steps out.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
Paramount has said the suit should be dismissed because it “distorts settled antitrust law and is based on a misrepresentation of competition in the entertainment industry today.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
On 7 July, Judge Mr Justice Nicklin dismissed the claims and said the public figures had failed to prove the allegations.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
District Court Judge Katherine Menendez dismissed the case, ultimately finding that Congress never authorized the attorney general to access voting records and documents that state officials create themselves.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
James Fame Ndongo, a senior ruling party figure and higher education minister, dismissed claims of a power vacuum last month, insisting the president continued to oversee state affairs.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
The girl is kept longer, but she too is dismissed, her forehead wrinkled in confusion.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Hill reiterated the importance of not dismissing people's experience of their cycle as "anxiety".
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Families of deployed sailors have pushed back, accusing Trump and Hegseth of dismissing what their loved ones have experienced aboard the ship.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Voters in the coastal community were less enthusiastic, however, with even local Reform supporters dismissing the poll.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
Then it’s up to their coach to talk them into dismissing the algorithm they’ve spent the past few months trusting.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
He turned over, dismissing his doubts and calling to mind the figure of a girl he’d seen down-town the other day.
From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier
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.
