Brush Off in a Sentence: Meaning, Uses & Examples

Brush off is a phrasal verb meaning to dismiss someone curtly or to treat a request or warning as unimportant. To use brush off in a sentence, give it a person or a thing as its object: she brushed off the reporter, he brushed off the criticism. The particle can also split from the verb.

Brush off at a glance

• Brush off is a separable phrasal verb; its forms are brushes off, brushed off and brushing off.
• The two senses are rejecting a person and removing something with a brush.
• The object is usually a person, a question, a warning or a criticism.
• The noun is hyphenated: a brush-off.
• The commonest error is placing a pronoun after the particle, as in brush off it.

What does brush off mean?

Brush off is a transitive phrasal verb meaning to reject a person briefly and coolly, or to treat a request, warning or criticism as not worth attention. The Cambridge entry for brush off records the dismissive sense and the literal one of removing something with a brush. A rebuff is a refusal delivered to someone face to face, while brushing off can be quieter, just a shrug or a changed subject.

Brush off is not the same as calm disagreement. If a committee reads a proposal and gives reasons for rejecting it, the verb is reject or turn down, because no rudeness or haste was involved. Brush off accuses the other person of not giving you real attention.

How do you use brush off in a sentence?

The verb is separable: brush off the question and brush the question off are both fine, but a pronoun must sit in the middle, as in brush it off. Its cousin brush aside targets objections and suggestions rather than people, so you brush aside a concern but brush off a caller.

Brush off in a sentence: examples across contexts

Brush off vs shrug off

Both phrases push something away, but they push different things. Brush off rejects a person or request, while to shrug off a problem is to treat it as unimportant to you. A boxer shrugs off a jab but does not brush it off, because no person was turned away.

Use brush off when a person or request is turned away coldly, and shrug off when a setback is treated as no threat to you.

Word forms and grammar of brush off

Common mistakes with brush off

Incorrect: She brushed off it. Correct: She brushed it off. Rule: a pronoun must sit between the verb and the particle.

Incorrect: He gave me a brush off. Correct: He gave me a brush-off. Rule: the noun is hyphenated.

Incorrect: They brushed off the dust the table. Correct: They brushed the dust off the table. Rule: in the literal sense the particle follows the thing removed.

Incorrect: I was brush off by the receptionist. Correct: I was brushed off by the receptionist. Rule: the passive needs the past participle brushed.

Incorrect: We brushed off aside the objection. Correct: We brushed aside the objection. Rule: choose one particle, because brush off and brush aside are different phrases.

Practice using brush off

1. Fill the gap: She ___ ___ my suggestion and kept talking.
2. Fill the gap: Brush the crumbs ___ the table before dinner.
3. Choose the better phrase: The champion (brushed off / shrugged off) the injury and kept playing.
4. Correct the error: He brushed off it.
5. Build a sentence about a rude reply using the noun brush-off.
6. Pick the meaning: Did he brush off the warning, or brush aside the warning? Explain the difference.

Answers

1. She brushed off my suggestion, with the object after the particle.
2. Brush the crumbs off the table, with the particle after the thing removed.
3. The champion shrugged off the injury, because the problem did not affect the champion.
4. He brushed it off, because a pronoun goes between the verb and the particle.
5. After a short brush-off at the desk, she wrote to the manager instead.
6. Both are possible; brush off sounds like rejecting the person, while brush aside sounds like treating the warning as unimportant.

The bottom line

Brush off is the phrasal verb for a quick, cool rejection, and it can also mean sweeping dust away. The dismissive sense almost always takes a person, a question or a warning as its object, and a pronoun must sit in the middle. When you write brush off in a sentence, keep the object concrete. For a formal refusal, choose reject or dismiss instead.

Frequently asked questions about brush off

Is brush off rude?

Usually, yes. To brush someone off is to give them less attention than they reasonably expect, so the word carries a note of rudeness even when the tone stays polite. A formal refusal with reasons is not a brush-off, because nothing is being pushed away.

What does brush someone off mean?

It means to reject or dismiss that person briefly and without warmth. The object is human: a reporter, a fan, a colleague. When the target is a thing rather than a person, English usually prefers brush aside or dismiss, as with an objection or a claim.

Is brush off one word or two?

The verb is two words: brush off, as in brush off the question. The noun takes a hyphen: a brush-off, as in she gave him a brush-off. Never write the noun as two separate words or the verb with a hyphen.

How is brush off different from brush up?

They share the verb brush but nothing else. Brush off means reject, while brush up means improve a skill, as in brush up on your French. The particle decides the meaning, which is why learners should treat each phrasal verb as its own word.

When someone disregards or dismisses something as unimportant or unworthy of consideration, they simply “brush it off.” This common idiom is used to describe the act of casually ignoring or downplaying a matter without giving it too much thought or attention.

To “brush off” can involve showing indifference, nonchalance, or a lack of concern towards a particular situation or individual. It often implies a sense of dismissal or disregard, making it a versatile phrase used in various contexts to convey a lack of interest or importance.

7 Examples Of Brush Off Used In a Sentence For Kids

1. You can brush off the dust from your shoes before entering the house.
2. Remember to brush off any crumbs from your clothes after eating.
3. Let’s all help each other brush off the sand before going inside the classroom.
4. Don’t forget to brush off any leaves that stick to your jacket after playing outside.
5. It’s important to brush off your toys before putting them away in the toy box.
6. Ask your friends to help you brush off the paint from your hands after art class.
7. Before we go home, we should all brush off the grass from our shoes.

14 Sentences with Brush Off Examples

• Brush off that negative feedback from your professor and focus on improving your grades.
• Don’t let the comments from your classmates brush off your confidence in your abilities.
• It’s important to brush off distractions and stay focused during exam season.
• Remember to brush off the haters and stay true to yourself.
• Don’t let a rejection letter brush off your dreams of studying abroad.
• If someone tries to bring you down, just brush off their negativity and keep working towards your goals.
• It’s easy to brush off the importance of networking in college, but it can lead to great opportunities.
• When facing criticism, try to brush off the negativity and see if there’s something constructive you can learn from it.
• It’s important to brush off procrastination and stay on top of your assignments.
• Don’t let a bad grade brush off your passion for learning and self-improvement.
• If you experience failure, it’s okay to brush off the disappointment and keep pushing forward.
• Remember to brush off comparison to your peers and focus on your own progress and growth.
• When feeling overwhelmed, take a moment to brush off stress and practice self-care.
• It’s important to brush off rejection and keep applying for internships or job opportunities.

How To Use Brush Off in Sentences?

Brush Off can be used in a sentence to indicate the action of dismissing or ignoring something.
To better understand how to use Brush Off in a sentence, here is a guide for beginners:

1. Identify the situation: Consider a scenario where someone is ignoring or downplaying a comment, request, or suggestion.

2. Choose the subject: Determine who is doing the ignoring or dismissing and what is being ignored. For example, “She decided to Brush Off his criticism.”

3. Use Brush Off as a phrasal verb: In the sentence, place Brush Off after the subject and follow it with the object that is being dismissed. For instance, “The manager Brushed Off the employee’s concerns regarding the project deadline.”

4. Add context: Remember to provide context to the sentence to make it clearer. For example, “Despite his efforts, she continued to Brush Off his advances.”

5. Expand and practice: Experiment with different subjects, objects, and contexts to practice using Brush Off in various sentences. This will help you become more familiar with the phrase and its correct placement in a sentence.

By following this simple guide and practicing different examples, you can confidently use Brush Off in a sentence to convey the act of disregarding or dismissing something in a clear and effective manner.

Conclusion

In conclusion, “brush off” is a common term used to describe an action of dismissing or ignoring something, often with a casual or nonchalant attitude. This phrase conveys a sense of indifference or lack of concern towards the subject at hand. When someone brushes off a matter, they are essentially disregarding its importance or significance.

Whether it’s in response to a question, criticism, or request for help, using the phrase “brush off” implies a sense of avoidance or refusal to engage further with the issue. It can be seen as a way to minimize the impact of a situation or to avoid dealing with it altogether. Therefore, understanding the implications of “brushing off” something can help to manage expectations in interpersonal interactions and communication.