dismiss
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
to decide that something is not important or not worth thinking about.
to refuse to consider an idea, suggestion, or possibility because it is deemed unworthy of serious attention.
Simple“The boss dismissed my suggestion without even looking at the data.”
In context“The committee dismissed the proposal as impractical, failing to recognize the long-term benefits of the suggested infrastructure upgrades.”
- 02 B1 Intermediate
to officially tell someone or a group that they can go.
to give permission to leave or to formally end a meeting or session.
Simple“The teacher dismissed the class five minutes early because it was Friday.”
In context“After the witness finished her testimony, the judge dismissed her and called for a brief recess before the next cross-examination.”
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
to remove someone from their job, usually because they did something wrong.
to terminate an individual's employment or service; often carries a more formal or legal tone than 'fire'.
Simple“He was dismissed for consistently arriving late to the office.”
In context“The board of directors voted to dismiss the CEO following a series of controversial financial disclosures that damaged the company's reputation.”
- 04 C1 Advanced
when a judge stops a court case from continuing.
to stop a court case from proceeding, often due to a lack of evidence or a procedural error.
Simple“The judge dismissed the case because there was not enough evidence.”
In context“The defense attorney successfully moved to have the charges dismissed on the grounds that the evidence had been obtained through an illegal search.”
- 05 C1 Advanced
to end a player's turn in a game like cricket.
to end the innings of a batsman or a side in cricket.
Simple“The star player was dismissed for only ten runs in the final match.”
In context“The visiting team was dismissed for a surprisingly low total, largely due to the exceptional performance of the home side's spin bowlers.”
Synonyms
“What if he could dismiss the inner voice that had told him he was “bad” all his life and instead see if shame was trying to tell him something important?”
“As is, to a more rattled degree, Fifa’s counter-filing this week , which dismisses the whole episode as a “smear campaign”, then says the quiet thing out loud.”
Middle English, from Latin dimissus (“sent away, dismissed, banished”), perfect passive participle of dīmittō (“send away, dismiss”), from dis- + mittere (“to send”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.