fall away
Britishverb
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(of friendship) to be withdrawn
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to slope down
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Also, fall off . Withdraw one's friendship, support, or allegiance. For example, After the divorce, her friends slowly fell away . [Early 1500s]
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Also, fall off . Gradually decline in size or strength, as in The breeze slowly fell away , or, as Shakespeare put it ( King Lear , 1:2): “Love cools, friendship falls off, Brothers divide.” [Early 1500s]
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Drift from an established faith, cause, or principles. For example, I fell away from the Catholic Church when I was a teenager . [Early 1500]
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.
For a time, the trappings of ordinary life fall away.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
A few minutes after liftoff, its two halves will separate and fall away, allowing Roman to continue its journey into space.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
When the thing dies, the worms fall away to reveal that it wasn’t always a demon, but a boar god felled by a dark force.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
In a third round that saw challengers rise but ultimately fall away, Wyndham Clark stood firm to position himself as the overwhelming favourite to win a second US Open title.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
Slowly the bow of the Syracuse boat came into Joe’s field of view, just beginning to fall away behind him.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
