6 synonyms and better words for “ignore,” each with its precise meaning and an example so you pick the one that actually fits, not just the nearest match.
To pay no attention to something, treating it as unworthy of notice.
“She disregarded his warnings and plunged headlong into the frozen lake.”
Best for: Slightly formal; works well in professional writing or serious prose.
To reject or snub something with a sharp, dismissive energy.
“He rebuffed every attempt at reconciliation with a cold, practiced silence.”
Best for: Best when the ignoring carries an edge of active rejection or contempt.
To fail or choose not to see something, often deliberately passing it by.
“The committee overlooked her proposal as though it had never existed.”
Best for: Versatile and natural in everyday formal or narrative writing.
To omit or pass over something as if sliding smoothly past its existence.
“The historian elided the massacre from his account with troubling ease.”
Best for: Literary and precise; excellent for writing about deliberate omission.
To treat something with utter scorn, dismissing it as beneath consideration.
“She contemned his flattery the way a queen contemns a fool's coin.”
Best for: Archaic and powerful; best suited to formal essays or historical fiction.
To reject or ridicule something with contemptuous dismissal, treating it as absurd.
“He scouted the idea entirely, laughing it from the room before it could breathe.”
Best for: An obscure usage; striking in literary or rhetorical contexts for dramatic effect.
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