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.

One of them mentioned, almost in passing, that his father, a retired dentist, had recently received an unsolicited mailing inviting him to invest in a private-credit fund.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 22, 2026

To be sure, executives are sometimes talking about the conflict in passing or fielding questions about Iran from analysts.

From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026

Her two solo albums are only mentioned in passing.

From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026

At the same time, Mr. Curran expands on many facets of the genre that previous scholars have only mentioned in passing.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026

I’d be talking to a donor or a carer and they’d bring it up in passing, like they expected me to know all about it.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro

in passing

Example Sentences

Related Words