drain (away)

verb

Definition of drain (away)next
as in to decrease
to grow less in scope or intensity especially gradually as the city lost population, its political influence drained away

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for drain (away)
  1. decrease
  2. diminish
  3. subside
  4. decline
  5. taper off
  6. fall away
  7. fall
Verb
  • As would be expected, oil demand was forced to decrease, to match available supply.
    — Jason Bordoff, Foreign Affairs, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Only 15% believed the statements would decrease the patients’ likelihood of seeking treatment—even though that's what tended to happen in the researchers' simulations.
    — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of decrease
Verb
  • The term refers to when tobacco companies in the 1990s were forced to pay billions of dollars for misleading the public about the safety and potential harms of their products, and subsequently saw their power and influence dramatically diminished.
    — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 18 Aug. 2026
  • The filter significantly diminishes elements commonly found in water that can be damaging, like chlorine, hydrogen sulfide, heavy metals, and more.
    — Caroline Hughes, Travel + Leisure, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of diminish
Verb
  • Washington and Tehran agreed in June to a 60-day ceasefire, allowing time to negotiate a more durable peace deal while active fighting subsided and the Strait of Hormuz could be reopened.
    — Hanna Ziady, CNN Money, 18 Aug. 2026
  • The drama of last year’s Ole Miss team under Lane Kiffin has subsided.
    — PJ Green August 16, Kansas City Star, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of subside
Verb
  • Watts declined Rolling Stone’s multiple requests for an interview and did not specifically address a majority of questions posed to him in a detailed request for comment.
    — Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2026
  • When first baseman Triston Casas suffered a season-ending injury in May, Devers declined to learn the position despite Boston’s dearth of options.
    — Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of decline
Verb
  • Then there’s the question of whether demand will taper off, which is difficult to predict.
    — Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Rain showers got Wednesday started for most of the Philadelphia area, but that morning precipitation will taper off through midday.
    — Bill Kelly, CBS News, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of taper off
Verb
  • As the ribbon of asphalt climbs, clinging to rocky hillsides, the wall of trees falls away at times, revealing plunging canyons.
    — Zoe Baillargeon, Travel + Leisure, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The fragmentation of dementia sometimes makes David’s consciousness more sharply attuned to things, while entire other swaths of life fall away.
    — Deborah Treisman, New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of fall away
Verb
  • When night falls, another show begins with a dedicated corner of the estate designed for stargazing.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Zinc ions enter the electrode first at higher voltages, while much smaller protons are stored later as the voltage falls.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of fall
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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drain
drain (away)
drained
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Cite this Entry

“Drain (away).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drain%20%28away%29. Accessed 22 Aug. 2026.

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