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(of friendship) to be withdrawn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.
Everything fell away except that deep, deep ache.
From Literature
The same three clubs were in the mix in the 1997-98 campaign, with Celtic eventually triumphing after Hearts fell away.
From BBC
Many pandemic-era efforts to help Black women and other minority groups advance up the corporate ladder have fallen away as companies have retreated from diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Some argued that it only stayed afloat because of official patronage, which fell away after Mugabe's ousting.
From BBC
They fell away from me, dropping their weapons, which flanked to the floor.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
