dismissive
Americanadjective
-
indicating dismissal or rejection; having the purpose or effect of dismissing, as from one's presence or from consideration.
a curt, dismissive gesture.
-
indicating lack of interest or approbation; scornful; disdainful.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of dismissive
Explanation
To be dismissive is to be indifferent and a little rude. Being dismissive is a sign of disrespect. If you're dismissive, you show little consideration for others. If a teacher laughs at a student's earnest answer to a question, that's dismissive. An employer throwing a resume in the trash without reading it? Dismissive. People are dismissive to others they think are beneath them. You can also be dismissive to ideas and suggestions. It's like waving someone or something away and saying, "whatever."
Vocabulary lists containing dismissive
Refugee
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Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam
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Into the Wild
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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.
SpaceX is in a similar situation, although investors aren’t as dismissive of its main revenue engine: the connectivity business.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 10, 2026
After it, he framed Israel and Iran in a similarly dismissive light, saying each had had "their fun" and now it was time for the talks.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
I firmly believe that kind of dismissive contempt is misguided.
From Salon ● Jun. 8, 2026
Eisenhower was dismissive of Churchill’s attempts to revive the wartime spirit of Great Power summitry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
North American researchers tended to scoff at the notion that some mysterious non-Indians had lived fifteen thousand years ago in the heart of Brazil, but South Americans, Pena among them, were less dismissive.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
