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(of friendship) to be withdrawn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.
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
But he said concerns usually fall away when they learn more about induction stoves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2026
Mr. Boyes intends to extract DNA samples from them via darts designed to break the skin, then fall away.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
Few women choose to study computer science in the first place, then "once you get more senior, women fall away", Hall said.
From Barron's ● Feb. 20, 2026
I disclosed no such Suspicion, but said to him simply, “Slavery & Subjugation shall soon enough fall away, sir.”
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
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.
