Words / B2

dis-MIS/dɪsˈmɪs/

To dismiss is to sack someone, or to reject an idea: dismiss a worker; dismiss a claim; dismiss the figures as unreliable. Dismissal is already in the dictionary. Fire is informal for the job sense; reject is close for ideas. Do not dismiss evidence in an essay without argument. A case can be dismissed in court.

Meaning

To remove someone from a job; also to refuse to consider an idea seriously.

Examples

• “The minister dismissed the figures as incomplete.”
• “The minister dismissed the leaked figures as incomplete.”
• “The claim was dismissed in court, which is the legal sense.”

Good to know

dismiss someone (sack); dismiss an idea as. Informal job: fire. Court: dismiss a case. Noun: dismissal.

Near in meaning

reject

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