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Synonyms

wear off

British  

verb

  1. (intr) to decrease in intensity gradually

    the pain will wear off in an hour

  2. to disappear or cause to disappear gradually through exposure, use, etc

    the pattern on the ring had been worn off
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
wear off Idioms  

  1. Diminish gradually, lose effectiveness, as in We'll wait till the drug wears off. [Late 1600s]

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.

At this point, my antihistamines have started to wear off.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

"We did not see its effect wear off over time."

From Science Daily • Nov. 18, 2025

The network, a majority from Altadena, has seen the adrenaline that pushed people at the beginning of the year wear off as a sense of dismay set in.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 30, 2025

So far, stocks have largely ignored tariffs’ threat to the economy, assuming that any resulting inflation will wear off next year.

From Barron's • Oct. 16, 2025

Before the jelly beans wear off, he thought but didn’t say.

From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein

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.