What does dismiss mean?
To dismiss is to send something or someone away — literally or figuratively. In its most common modern sense, it means to reject an idea, argument, or concern as not worth serious attention, often implying a certain hastiness or condescension: critics may dismiss a film as shallow. It also carries several institutional senses: employers dismiss workers (a formal term for removal from a job), judges dismiss cases or charges, and teachers or commanders dismiss classes or assemblies, permitting people to leave. The word derives from Latin roots meaning 'to send apart', and this sense of deliberate sending-away underlies all its uses. Dismiss frequently appears with objects like doubts, fears, suggestions, and evidence, and the phrase 'dismiss out of hand' emphasizes rejection without examination. Its derivatives include dismissal (the act or instance) and dismissive (showing disregard). Because it can describe everything from a court ruling to a curt reaction, dismiss remains one of English's most versatile verbs of rejection.
To reject something as untrue, unimportant, or not worth considering.
"He dismissed the rumour without even looking up."
To remove someone from employment or to officially end a case, charge, or assembly.
"The magistrate dismissed the charges against her."
Every time you dismiss a thought, you're literally 'sending it away' — the word comes from Latin dis- ('apart') + mittere ('to send'), the same root that gives us 'mission' and 'transmit'.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of dismiss
Dismiss comes from the Latin verb dismittere, formed from dis- ('apart, away') and mittere ('to send'), so its original sense was literally 'to send away in different directions'. It entered English in the late Middle Ages via Old French desmise/.dismiss-, initially used of letting people go or releasing them from service. Over subsequent centuries it broadened to the rejecting of arguments and the formal termination of legal proceedings and employment. It shares its root mittere with words such as mission, transmit, submit, and remit.
Related word forms
How dismiss is actually used
Standard in both formal and informal registers across British and US English. When dismissing a person from employment, it is more formal than 'fire' but less blunt than 'sack'; in everyday speech about ideas, 'brush off' and 'wave away' are looser equivalents.