brush off — refuse to listen to someone or accept something
phrasal verbB2IELTS 6+neutraloccasional
To ignore someone or something, or to refuse to take them seriously.
Say it like a native
Textbook He rebuffed her attempts at conversation.
Native He brushed her off.
'Rebuffed her attempts at conversation' is formal; 'brushed her off' is natural and casual.
Pattern: brush (someone/something) off
In use
- When I tried to talk to my manager about the problem, she just brushed me off.communication
- In my opinion, it's important for leaders to listen to feedback rather than brushing off people's concerns.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ He brushed off her when she tried to talk.
✓ He brushed her off when she tried to talk.
With a person/pronoun, the object goes in the middle: 'brush her off'.
Common collocations
brush + off (person)— me off, her off, him off, them off
Don't confuse it
'Brush off' is more dismissive than simply 'ignore'. It suggests you don't think the person or idea is important.