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(of friendship) to be withdrawn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
Temperatures will begin to fall away by the weekend, although at their lowest they will still be average or a little above average for mid-August.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
She’s the real, rare example of someone who both talks the talk and walks the walk; someone whose warm smile and message of community don’t fall away the second the cameras stop rolling.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
Papa notched the old snag so it would fall away from our fire.
From "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls
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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.
