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Definitions

in passing

ADVERB
briefly
Synonyms
STRONGEST
momentarily quickly temporarily
WEAK
fleetingly for a little while hastily transiently
Antonyms
STRONGEST
permanently
WEAK
at length long-windedly verbosely
ADVERB
by the way
Synonyms
WEAK
apart from as to aside by the bye in as much as incidentally on the part of parenthetically relating to speaking of while on the subject with reference to
ADVERB
incidentally
Synonyms
STRONGEST
casually remotely
STRONG
accidentally
WEAK
as a by-product as side effect by the bye by the way fortuitously in related manner not by design obiter parenthetically subordinately unexpectedly
Antonyms
WEAK
purposely

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Also, don’t embarrass your friend or shame her daughter by mentioning it to your friend, even in passing.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 13, 2026

Former Congresswomen Marjorie Taylor Greene, whom Trump mentioned in passing in his post, responded to his comments on X.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

Her two solo albums are only mentioned in passing.

From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026

Kotora also said Babis would be interested in "passing the assets on to his children".

From Barron's • Mar. 12, 2026

Strictly speaking, Galileo knew Harriot existed, as he had read William Gilbert’s On the Magnet, in which Harriot is mentioned in passing, and described as ‘most scholarly’.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton