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Synonyms

gloss over

British  

verb

  1. to hide under a deceptively attractive surface or appearance

  2. to deal with (unpleasant facts) rapidly and cursorily, or to omit them altogether from an account of something

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
gloss over Idioms  

  1. Make attractive or acceptable by deception or superficial treatment. For example, His resumé glossed over his lack of experience, or She tried to gloss over the mistake by insisting it would make no difference. [Mid-1600s]

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.

It was the kind of routine email that employees would normally gloss over.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 20, 2026

Still, the economic vibes people felt were a real thing — and trying to gloss over voters’ concerns was a mistake.

From Salon • Dec. 18, 2025

If you’re in early retirement — or close to it — you don’t want to gloss over the announcement of new tax brackets for 2026 as next year’s problem.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 10, 2025

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel "will not gloss over the shocking scenes", and that action would be taken accordingly, without specifying what that would be.

From BBC • Feb. 8, 2025

“Come here, Morg,” she said, and she ran the lip gloss over Morgan’s lips.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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.