gloss over

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

gloss over (third-person singular simple present glosses over, present participle glossing over, simple past and past participle glossed over)

  1. (transitive, idiomatic) To cover up a mistake or a crime; to hush up or whitewash.
    Synonym: paper over
    They glossed over the problem, hoping that the customers wouldn't notice.
  2. (transitive, idiomatic) To treat something with less care than it in some ways deserves; to ignore, or at least to discount or dismiss for the current purposes.
    Coordinate term: shortchange
    This book only glosses over quantum mechanics; it doesn't go into detail.

Translations

See also