FALL AWAY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does fall away mean? 

• FALL AWAY (verb)
  The verb FALL AWAY has 2 senses:

1. get worse

2. diminish in size or intensity

  Familiarity information: FALL AWAY used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FALL AWAY (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Get worse

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

drop away; drop off; fall away; slip

Context example:

My grades are slipping

Hypernyms (to "fall away" is one way to...):

decline; worsen (grow worse)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fall away"):

backslide; lapse (drop to a lower level, as in one's morals or standards)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Sense 2

Meaning:

Diminish in size or intensity

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

fall away; fall off

Hypernyms (to "fall away" is one way to...):

disappear; go away; vanish (get lost, as without warning or explanation)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

 Context examples 

The woods about this point fall away to the left and the right, while the road curves upwards and the wind sweeps keenly over the swelling uplands.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Instantly the wicked woman gave a loud cry of fear, and then, as Dorothy looked at her in wonder, the Witch began to shrink and fall away.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)