Hello and welcome back to Daily English! Today’s word is “dismissive.” One more time — dismissive. Let’s see if you can guess what it means from these clues:
You’re trying to talk to someone about something that really matters to you, but they roll their eyes and say, “You’re overreacting.” That attitude? Dismissive.
A student brings a new idea to class, and the teacher doesn’t even look up. She just shrugs and says, “We’ve already covered that.”
That’s a dismissive response.
So, what does “dismissive” mean? It means showing that you don’t think something or someone is important. If someone is dismissive, they don’t take your words, feelings, or ideas seriously — they brush them off as unimportant.
Examples: “When the woman brought up equal pay at the meeting, some colleagues were dismissive and changed the subject.”
“He was totally dismissive of the customer’s complaint — and that cost the company a loyal client.”
“She tried to talk to her partner about feeling left out, but he gave a dismissive laugh and walked away.”
BTW Being dismissive isn’t always loud or rude — it’s often quiet, a look, a tone, a shrug. But it leaves a strong feeling: that what you said doesn’t matter. And that hurts.
Your Turn
Have you ever felt like someone was being dismissive toward you? How did you handle it — or what do you wish you had said?