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.
-
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
-
predismissverb (used with object)
-
redismissverb (used with object)
-
dismissibleadjective
-
dismissiveadjective
-
undismissedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
dismisssimple
-
dismissessimple
-
have dismissedperfect
-
has dismissedperfect
-
am dismissingprogressive
-
are dismissingprogressive
-
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:
Both of Smith's catches off Lyon, first to dismiss Temba Bavuma and then Kyle Verreynne, were feats of anticipation.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
The sad thing about this is that the people who most need to hear this will dismiss it as “fake news.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
The pair have asked a US judge to dismiss the charges against them, claiming they have immunity as president and first lady of a sovereign country.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
In 2022, however, a Colorado trial court denied Suncor’s motion to dismiss.
From Slate ● Oct. 5, 2026
I heard Anna May call my name, but I flung back my arm to dismiss her.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Teachout dismisses AI developers’ claims that many of the known problems created by their systems, including hacks of other digital systems, were inadvertent and therefore nobody’s fault.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
He dismisses concerns about its effectiveness, including suggestions that alleviated symptoms could be due to a placebo effect.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
She dismisses some research papers on it as "absolutely poor quality".
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Bret dismisses the luxury car as a “two-door tank that was hardly the sporty vehicle” he “longed for.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
He dismisses the corporal with a slight wag of his chin.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
The following Capistrano Unified School District campuses are being dismissed early because of the fire:
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
SafeSport, a non-profit established to prevent the abuse of athletes and and address misconduct allegations, was dismissed as a defendant in two lawsuits filed by gymnasts that allege the organization did not properly investigate Gardner.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
Wells dismissed those fears on Thursday and said a previous clause in the draft legislation that would have granted ministerial powers to define harmful content had been removed.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
Seeing the rocky path leading up the valley, my mom voiced doubt for the first time, and I dismissed her with what I hoped sounded like words of encouragement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
When school was dismissed, I walked home with Charlie and the rest of the children and thought nothing of it.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
But Mulder offered little after his new-ball spells and Marco Jansen was quiet after dismissing Nic Maddinson and Steve Smith on day one.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
These realities don’t map to every experience yet following the NPC slander to its logical conclusion can be dangerous: declaring that a person’s alleged lack of inner thinking is justification for dismissing their humanity.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026
“They’ve spent years dismissing SpaceX as a competitive threat while passing on opportunities that might have worked in their favor,” he added.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
He wants the judge to enter a not-guilty verdict, essentially dismissing the case after a weeks-long, televised trial that has captivated Americans.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
I’d ask him, and he’d shake his head, dismissing the idea.
From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
