Basic Details
Word: Dismiss
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: To send someone away or allow them to leave; to remove someone from a job; or to decide that an idea is not worth thinking about.
Synonyms: discharge, sack, reject, disregard
Antonyms: hire, employ, accept
Word origin: From Latin dimittere, to send away.
How to Spell Dismiss
Syllables: dis - miss
Tricky part: The first part, dis, has one s; the second part, miss, has two. Students often write dissmiss or dismis.
Watch out for: dismis, dissmiss, dissmis
Memory tip: Dis has one s; miss has two. When a teacher dismisses the class, the pupils miss the rest of the lesson.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The teacher will dismiss the class at exactly half past two.
Example 2: Never dismiss a small cut on your hand as nothing; clean it properly.
Example 3: The manager threatened to dismiss anyone who came late again.
Fun Fact
On a cricket scorecard, every batter who is out has the way they were dismissed written beside their name, such as bowled, caught or run out.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word dismiss as used in the sentence:
Do not dismiss her idea just because she is the youngest in the team.
a) copy
b) welcome
c) support
d) disregard
Show answer
d) disregard. To disregard an idea is to pay no attention to it; welcome and support mean the opposite.
Word Cookie
Fill in the missing letters to complete the word:
di_mi_s
a) s, z
b) z, s
c) c, s
d) s, s
Show answer
d) s, s. One s closes dis, and a second s doubles the end of miss.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
The umpire was quick to msidssi the appeal for a run-out.
a) distress
b) dismiss
c) dispatch
d) discuss
Show answer
b) dismiss. Only dismiss has an m; the other three have none.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. If a company dismisses a worker, the worker ____.
a) joins a new team
b) loses the job
c) goes on holiday
d) gets a promotion
Show answer
b) loses the job
2. To dismiss a worry from your mind is to ____.
a) stop thinking about it
b) tell it to a friend
c) write it in a diary
d) think about it all day
Show answer
a) stop thinking about it
