[
US
/ˈpæsɪŋ/
]
[ UK /pˈɑːsɪŋ/ ]
[ UK /pˈɑːsɪŋ/ ]
ADJECTIVE
-
hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough
a passing glance
perfunctory courtesy
a casual (or cursory) inspection failed to reveal the house's structural flaws
In his paper, he showed a very superficial understanding of psychoanalytic theory -
allowing you to pass (e.g., an examination or inspection) satisfactorily
a passing grade -
lasting a very short time
fugacious blossoms
the ephemeral joys of childhood
a passing fancy
youth's transient beauty
love is transitory but it is eternal -
of advancing the ball by throwing it
a pass play
a team with a good passing attack
NOUN
-
(American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate
the coach sent in a passing play on third and long -
going by something that is moving in order to get in front of it
she drove but well but her reckless passing of every car on the road frightened me -
success in satisfying a test or requirement
he got a pass in introductory chemistry
his future depended on his passing that test -
the motion of one object relative to another
stellar passings can perturb the orbits of comets -
the end of something
the passing of winter -
a bodily reaction of changing from one place or stage to another
the passing of flatus
the passage of air from the lungs -
euphemistic expressions for death
thousands mourned his passing
ADVERB
-
to an extraordinary degree
she was a surpassingly beautiful woman
I will mention only one particular aspect of the current mess because ... this one is surely something new and passing strange
How To Use passing In A Sentence
- So it's a little more than passing strange that Mr. Brooks clucks about Mr. Obama's "über-partisan budget" when, given the last few weeks of shrieking and wailing from the Republicans about socialism and communism, he's been the voice of moderation in the room. Moderately Shocked
- Their feud dates back almost two centuries with a level of enmity that has only gathered strength over the passing years.
- The scene near the Chennai Kaliappa Hospital, on Tuesday was supremely ironical, and drew sharp reactions from tree lovers who were passing by.
- Although the World Cup is all encompassing at the moment, when it comes to sport there is no more spine-tingling moment than when 65,000 fans at Murrayfield sing ‘Flower of Scotland’.
- Now, moreover, with the nation in an economic downturn, is not the time to assert the urgency of passing referendum legislation.
- They stood, without any respect for regularity, on each side of a straggling kind of unpaved street, where children, almost in a primitive state of nakedness, lay sprawling, as if to be crushed by the hoofs of the first passing horse. The Waverley
- The political analyst Nikolai Petrov has described Mr. Putin's predicament using the chess term "zugzwang," in which a player sees only moves that will damage his position, and yet does not have the option of passing. NYT > Home Page
- Their passing was sloppy, possession was given away too easily and balls were either spilled or over carried in promising attacks.
- Overhead, a mewing cry announced the passing of a white-tailed sea eagle, which was being mobbed by agitated gulls.
- The moon passing through the outer region of the Earth's shadow, known as the penumbra, will be visible from Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia's west coast at Stars and Stripes
