depart

[ dih-pahrt ]

verb (used without object)

1. to go away; leave:

   She departed from Paris today. The train departs at 10:52.

   Antonyms: arrive

2. to diverge or deviate (usually followed by from ):

   The new method departs from the old in several respects.

3. to pass away, as from life or existence; die.

verb (used with object)

1. to go away from; leave:

   to depart this life.

   Synonyms: quit

noun

1. Archaic. departure; death.

depart

/ dɪˈpɑːt /

verb

1. to go away; leave
2. to start out; set forth
3. usually foll by from to deviate; differ; vary

   to depart from normal procedure

4. tr to quit (archaic, except in the phrase depart this life )

Other Words From

• unde·parting adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of depart¹

1175–1225; Middle English departen < Old French departir, equivalent to de- de- + partir to go away; part ( v. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of depart¹

C13: from Old French departir, from de- + partir to go away, divide, from Latin partīrī to divide, distribute, from pars a part

Synonym Study

Depart, retire, retreat, withdraw imply leaving a place. Depart is a somewhat literary word for going away from a place: to depart on a journey. Retire emphasizes absenting oneself or drawing back from a place: to retire from a position in battle. Retreat implies a necessary withdrawal, especially as a result of adverse fortune in war: to retreat to secondary lines of defense. Withdraw suggests leaving some specific place or situation, usually for some definite and often unpleasant reason: to withdraw from a hopeless task.

Example Sentences

While it angered fans to see the comic strip depart the funny pages, the animated version gained serious attention.

From The Daily Beast

Then he disappeared by the same door through which I had watched him depart less than sixty seconds before.

From The Daily Beast

Zeitz efficiently shows how their lives parallel and depart from the larger story of a rapidly changing America in those decades.

From The Daily Beast

“When V. Asaro attempted to depart in his car, agent observed him drive into a metal pole,” the papers note.

From The Daily Beast

So al-Qaeda may well recover in months, not years, after we depart Afghanistan if the pressure on its base in Pakistan dwindles.

From The Daily Beast

The memory of him shall not depart away, and his name shall be in request from generation to generation.

From Project Gutenberg

I shall soon depart, and practise no more; and my time will become my own—still my own, by no means yours.

From Project Gutenberg

But the essential problem of to-day is to know how far we are to depart from its principles.

From Project Gutenberg

Monsieur de Garnache comes alone, and if I so will it alone he shall depart or not at all.

From Project Gutenberg

At the same instant the landed proprietor rose from his chair, and was about to depart likewise.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• abandon
• blast off
• disappear
• escape
• evacuate
• exit
• go
• pull out
• quit
• remove
• retire
• vacate
• withdraw