PASSING
casual, cursory, passing, perfunctory, superficial
(adjective) hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough; “a casual (or cursory) inspection failed to reveal the house’s structural flaws”; “a passing glance”; “perfunctory courtesy”; “In his paper, he showed a very superficial understanding of psychoanalytic theory”
ephemeral, passing, short-lived, transient, transitory, fugacious
(adjective) lasting a very short time; “the ephemeral joys of childhood”; “a passing fancy”; “youth’s transient beauty”; “love is transitory but it is eternal”; “fugacious blossoms”
passing
(adjective) allowing you to pass (e.g., an examination or inspection) satisfactorily; “a passing grade”
surpassingly, 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”--Walker Percy
passing, pass, qualifying
(noun) success in satisfying a test or requirement; “his future depended on his passing that test”; “he got a pass in introductory chemistry”
passing, overtaking
(noun) 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”
pass, passing play, passing game, passing
(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”
passage, passing
(noun) a bodily reaction of changing from one place or stage to another; “the passage of air from the lungs”; “the passing of flatus”
passing
(noun) the end of something; “the passing of winter”
passing, passage
(noun) the motion of one object relative to another; “stellar passings can perturb the orbits of comets”
passing, loss, departure, exit, expiration, going, release
(noun) euphemistic expressions for death; “thousands mourned his passing”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
passing
present participle of pass
Adjective
passing (comparative more passing, superlative most passing)
That passes away; ephemeral. [from 14th c.]
(now rare, literary) Pre-eminent, excellent, extreme. [from 14th c.]
Vague, cursory. [from 18th c.]
Going past.
Adverb
passing (not comparable)
(now literary or archaic) Surpassingly, greatly. [from 14th c.]
Usage notes
• This use is sometimes misconstrued as meaning "vaguely" or "slightly" (perhaps by confusion with such phrases as "passing fancy", under Adjective, above), leading to formations such as "more than passing clever" etc.
Noun
passing (countable and uncountable, plural passings)
Death, dying; the end of something. [from 14th c.]
The fact of going past; a movement from one place to another or a change from one state to another. [from 14th c.]
(legal) The act of approving a bill etc. [from 15th c.]
(sports) The act of passing a ball etc. to another player. [from 19th c.]
A form of juggling where several people pass props between each other, usually clubs or rings.
(sociology) The ability of a person to be regarded as a member of an identity group or category different from their own.
Source: Wiktionary
Pass"ing, n.
Definition: The act of one who, or that which, passes; the act of going by
or away. Passing bell, a tolling of a bell to announce that a soul is
passing, or has passed, from its body (formerly done to invoke
prayers for the dying); also, a tolling during the passing of a
funeral procession to the grave, or during funeral ceremonies. Sir W.
Scott. Longfellow.
Pass"ing, a.
1. Relating to the act of passing or going; going by, beyond,
through, or away; departing.
2. Exceeding; surpassing, eminent. Chaucer. "Her passing deformity."
Shak. Passing note (Mus.), a character including a passing tone.
– Passing tone (Mus.), a tone introduced between two other tones,
on an unaccented portion of a measure, for the sake of smoother
melody, but forming no essential part of the harmony.
Pass"ing, adv.
Definition: Exceedingly; excessively; surpassingly; as, passing fair;
passing strange. "You apprehend passing shrewdly." Shak.
PASS
Pass, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Passed; p. pr. & vb. n. Passing.] Etym: [F.
passer, LL. passare, fr. L. passus step, or from pandere, passum, to
spread out, lay open. See Pace.]
1. To go; to move; to proceed; to be moved or transferred from one
point to another; to make a transit; -- usually with a following
adverb or adverbal phrase defining the kind or manner of motion; as,
to pass on, by, out, in, etc.; to pass swiftly, directly, smoothly,
etc.; to pass to the rear, under the yoke, over the bridge, across
the field, beyond the border, etc. "But now pass over [i.e., pass
on]." Chaucer.
On high behests his angels to and fro Passed frequent. Milton.
Sweet sounds rose slowly through their mouths, And from their bodies
passed. Coleridge.
2. To move or be transferred from one state or condition to another;
to change possession, condition, or circumstances; to undergo
transition; as, the business has passed into other hands.
Others, dissatisfied with what they have, . . . pass from just to
unjust. Sir W. Temple.
3. To move beyond the range of the senses or of knowledge; to pass
away; hence, to disappear; to vanish; to depart; specifically, to
depart from life; to die.
Disturb him not, let him pass paceably. Shak.
Beauty is a charm, but soon the charm will pass. Dryden.
The passing of the sweetest soul That ever looked with human eyes.
Tennyson.
4. To move or to come into being or under notice; to come and go in
consciousness; hence, to take place; to occur; to happen; to come; to
occur progressively or in succession; to be present transitorly.
So death passed upon all men. Rom. v. 12.
Our own consciousness of what passes within our own mind. I. Watts.
5. To go by or glide by, as time; to elapse; to be spent; as, their
vacation passed pleasantly.
Now the time is far passed. Mark vi. 35
6. To go from one person to another; hence, to be given and taken
freely; as, clipped coin will not pass; to obtain general acceptance;
to be held or regarded; to circulate; to be current; -- followed by
for before a word denoting value or estimation. "Let him pass for a
man." Shak.
False eloquence passeth only where true is not understood. Felton.
This will not pass for a fault in him. Atterbury.
7. To advance through all the steps or stages necessary to validity
or effectiveness; to be carried through a body that has power to
sanction or reject; to receive legislative sanction; to be enacted;
as, the resolution passed; the bill passed both houses of Congress.
8. To go through any inspection or test successfully; to be approved
or accepted; as, he attempted the examination, but did not expect to
pass.
9. To be suffered to go on; to be tolerated; hence, to continue; to
live alogn. "The play may pass." Shak.
10. To go unheeded or neglected; to proceed without hindrance or
opposition; as, we let this act pass.
11. To go beyond bounds; to surpass; to be in excess. [Obs.] "This
passes, Master Ford." Shak.
12. To take heed; to care. [Obs.]
As for these silken-coated slaves, I pass not. Shak.
13. To go through the intestines. Arbuthnot.
14. (Law)
Definition: To be conveyed or transferred by will, deed, or other
instrument of conveyance; as, an estate passes by a certain clause in
a deed. Mozley & W.
15. (Fencing)
Definition: To make a lunge or pass; to thrust.
16. (Card Playing)
Definition: To decline to play in one's turn; in euchre, to decline to make
the trump.
She would not play, yet must not pass. Prior.
To bring to pass, To come to pass. See under Bring, and Come.
– To pass away, to disappear; to die; to vanish. "The heavens shall
pass away." 2 Pet. iii. 10. "I thought to pass away before, but yet
alive I am." Tennyson.
– To pass by, to go near and beyond a certain person or place; as,
he passed by as we stood there.
– To pass into, to change by a gradual transmission; to blend or
unite with.
– To pass on, to proceed.
– To pass on or upon. (a) To happen to; to come upon; to affect.
"So death passed upon all men." Rom. v. 12. "Provided no indirect act
pass upon our prayers to define them." Jer. Taylor. (b) To determine
concerning; to give judgment or sentence upon. "We may not pass upon
his life." Shak.
– To pass off, to go away; to cease; to disappear; as, an agitation
passes off.
– To pass over, to go from one side or end to the other; to cross,
as a river, road, or bridge.
Pass, v. t.
1. In simple, transitive senses; as:
(a) To go by, beyond, over, through, or the like; to proceed from one
side to the other of; as, to pass a house, a stream, a boundary, etc.
(b) Hence:
Definition: To go from one limit to the other of; to spend; to live
through; to have experience of; to undergo; to suffer. "To pass
commodiously this life." Milton.
She loved me for the dangers I had passed. Shak.
(c) To go by without noticing; to omit attention to; to take no note
of; to disregard.
Please you that I may pass This doing. Shak.
I pass their warlike pomp, their proud array. Dryden.
(d) To transcend; to surpass; to excel; to exceed.
And strive to pass . . . Their native music by her skillful art.
Spenser.
Whose tender power Passes the strength of storms in their most
desolate hour. Byron.
(e) To go successfully through, as an examination, trail, test, etc.;
to obtain the formal sanction of, as a legislative body; as, he
passed his examination; the bill passed the senate.
2. In causative senses: as:
(a) To cause to move or go; to send; to transfer from one person,
place, or condition to another; to transmit; to deliver; to hand; to
make over; as, the waiter passed bisquit and cheese; the torch was
passed from hand to hand.
I had only time to pass my eye over the medals. Addison.
Waller passed over five thousand horse and foot by Newbridge.
Clarendon.
(b) To cause to pass the lips; to utter; to pronounce; hence, to
promise; to pledge; as, to pass sentence. Shak.
Father, thy word is passed. Milton.
(c) To cause to advance by stages of progress; to carry on with
success through an ordeal, examination, or action; specifically, to
give legal or official sanction to; to ratify; to enact; to approve
as valid and just; as, he passed the bill through the committee; the
senate passed the law.
(e) To put in circulation; to give currency to; as, to pass
counterfeit money. "Pass the happy news." Tennyson.
(f) To cause to obtain entrance, admission, or conveyance; as, to
pass a person into a theater, or over a railroad.
3. To emit from the bowels; to evacuate.
4. (Naut.)
Definition: To take a turn with (a line, gasket, etc.), as around a sail in
furling, and make secure.
5. (Fencing)
Definition: To make, as a thrust, punto, etc. Shak. Passed midshipman. See
under Midshipman.
– To pass a dividend, to omit the declaration and payment of a
dividend at the time when due.
– To pass away, to spend; to waste. "Lest she pass away the flower
of her age." Ecclus. xlii. 9.
– To pass by. (a) To disregard; to neglect. (b) To excuse; to
spare; to overlook.
– To pass off, to impose fraudulently; to palm off. "Passed himself
off as a bishop." Macaulay.
– To pass (something) on or upon (some one), to put upon as a trick
or cheat; to palm off. "She passed the child on her husband for a
boy." Dryden.
– To pass over, to overlook; not to note or resent; as, to pass
over an affront.
Pass, n. Etym: [Cf. F. pas (for sense 1), and passe, fr. passer to
pass. See Pass, v. i.]
1. An opening, road, or track, available for passing; especially, one
through or over some dangerous or otherwise impracticable barrier; a
passageway; a defile; a ford; as, a mountain pass.
"Try not the pass!" the old man said. Longfellow.
2. (Fencing)
Definition: A thrust or push; an attempt to stab or strike an adversary.
Shak.
3. A movement of the hand over or along anything; the manipulation of
a mesmerist.
4. (Rolling Metals)
Definition: A single passage of a bar, rail, sheet, etc., between the
rolls.
5. State of things; condition; predicament.
Have his daughters brought him to this pass. Shak.
Matters have been brought to this pass. South.
6. Permission or license to pass, or to go and come; a psssport; a
ticket permitting free transit or admission; as, a railroad or
theater pass; a military pass.
A ship sailing under the flag and pass of an enemy. Kent.
7. Fig.: a thrust; a sally of wit. Shak.
8. Estimation; character. [Obs.]
Common speech gives him a worthy pass. Shak.
9. Etym: [Cf. Passus.]
Definition: A part; a division. [Obs.] Chaucer. Pass boat (Naut.), a punt,
or similar boat.
– Pass book. (a) A book in which a trader enters articles bought on
credit, and then passes or sends it to the purchaser. (b) See Bank
book.
– Pass box (Mil.), a wooden or metallic box, used to carry
cartridges from the service magazine to the piece.
– Pass check, a ticket of admission to a place of entertainment, or
of readmission for one who goes away in expectation of returning.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition