Standard Lemma guide

dismissive

adj · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /dɪsˈmɪsɪv/
  • General-American: /dəsˈmɪsɪv/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɪsɪv
  • CMU ARPABET: D IH0 S M IH1 S IH0 V Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Showing disregard, indicating rejection, serving to dismiss.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adjective satellite

Meaning 2

stopping to associate with

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • they took dismissive action after the third violation

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

showing indifference or disregard

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a dismissive shrug
  • the firm is dismissive of the competitor's product
  • 'chronic fatigue syndrome' was known by the dismissive term 'housewife syndrome'

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From dismiss + -ive.

Across languages

Translations

3 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Spanish: displicente — adjective
  • Spanish: dar(le) poca importancia a (muy) — adjective
  • Spanish: quitar(le) importancia a (mucha) — adjective