dismissal

American  

[dis-mis-uhl] / dɪsˈmɪs əl /

Also dismission

noun

• dismissals
  plural

1. an act or instance of dismissing.

2. the state of being dismissed.

3. a spoken or written order of discharge from employment, service, enrollment, etc.

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dismissal British  

/ dɪsˈmɪsəl /

noun

1. an official notice of discharge from employment or service

2. the act of dismissing or the condition of being dismissed

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nondismissal
  noun
• predismissal
  noun
• redismissal
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• dismissals
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of dismissal

First recorded in 1800–10; dismiss + -al ²

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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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dismissal dismissals

“Needless to say, Mr. Lopez is quite pleased with the dismissal of the case, and he intends to vigorously defend against the alleged felony probation violation.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

It is almost 10 months since Jason Wilcox was in the line of fire when Ruben Amorim gave the explosive post-match news conference at Leeds that triggered his dismissal.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

A friend admonished him for the high-hat dismissal, and a chastened Mr. Lloyd fished out the script for a closer look.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

“The parties entered an agreement in June 2026 in exchange for a mutual release of claims; no money was exchanged. Per that settlement, the dismissal was then filed by Mr. O’Malley.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

My grandfather had never told Jimmy the reason for his dismissal from Ford, but Zizmo had a good idea why it might have happened.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

The researchers also urged the company to keep its promise to permanently host independent auditors, saying they feared their dismissals "may be used to justify ending" that work.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

Earlier in August, 32 petrochemical workers in Bandar-e Mahshahr, a city on the Persian Gulf coast, publicly protested their dismissals, according to ILNA.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

Additionally, hearing of the institution’s employee strikes, dismissals and downsizing due to lower enrollments, I respectfully declined.

From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026

Pakistan's second innings also included dismissals caught at leg slip and backward square leg, although those were as much down to batter error as Root's ingenuity.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

In fact, I was looking out over the lawn to where the mist was thickening down around the poplar trees planted along the cart-track, when I finally introduced the topic of the previous year's dismissals.

From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro

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