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
-
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.
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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
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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:
Mangione’s lawyer has asked the state to dismiss its charges, citing double-jeopardy protections.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
Smith went on to make 71 but his team-mates otherwise struggled in Darwin as Tigers fast bowler Hasan Mahmud took a career-best 6-55 to help dismiss the hosts for 198.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro and how her prosecutors secured a grand jury indictment against 67-year-old David Hearn for “vandalizing” the Reflecting Pool, only to dismiss the case within weeks.
From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2026
His move to dismiss Cook was the first such attempt by a president in the US central bank's 111-year history.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
It was his familiarity with atomism which made it possible for Bacon, exceptionally and presciently, to dismiss human sensory organs as inherently defective and often misleading.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Jantos dismisses accusations that this is "just a marketing line", saying it wants to help users find long-term relationships rather stay on the platform indefinitely.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
He dismisses regulation as a constraint on US competitiveness with China, even as more and more Americans come out angrily against AI and the huge energy-consuming data centers needed to power it.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
For her part Zoe, mature well beyond her tender age, dismisses the hype with a shrug.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2026
“I’m pretty sure I didn’t tell him where I lived,” she muses when David proposes collecting her for an evening out, but she dismisses her suspicions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
Padva dismisses these comments, though she does joke that with enough silk and an industrial-strength corset she could make Chandresh himself pass for the most fashionable of ladies.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
After being dismissed for 426 shortly after lunch, Bangladesh seamer Hasan Mahmud stunned the hosts when he claimed both openers cheaply.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
The snap poll, called when Farage resigned last month from parliament amid scrutiny into his finances, was dismissed by some voters in the eastern constituency of Clacton as a "farce".
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
A federal judge in Boston dismissed the U.S. government’s antisemitism lawsuit against Harvard University.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Speaking in court Thursday, Tahnya dismissed Sandoval as a “coward.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
I see no reason why they should pretend to ignore his existence, even though any discussion of him is liable to be dismissed as Whig history.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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
The term refers to a medical professional dismissing or invalidating health worries which can cause patients to doubt their pain and concerns.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
“I’ll pass on the message,” Rishi said nonchalantly, and then turned to Dimple, effectively dismissing Isabelle.
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
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.
