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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drain (away)
Verb
-
The rise of cloud computing in the 2010s forced Cisco to decrease its reliance on hardware networking equipment.—
Lisa Eadicicco,
CNN Money,
31 Jan. 2026 -
All dogs in the shelter are receiving antibiotics to significantly decrease their chances of developing symptoms, according to the news release.—
Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado
January 30,
Sacbee.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Sources at the club who spoke to The Athletic on condition of anonymity to protect relationships say there is no diminishing faith in Hurzeler at boardroom level.—
Andy Naylor,
New York Times,
28 Jan. 2026
-
And some poor choices have not diminished the status of the Norwegian Nobel Committee as the international arbiter of moral courage.—
Sean Williams,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The pain subsided gradually over a few weeks.—
Patricia Tortolani,
Allure,
29 Jan. 2026
-
While many institutions framed those changes as temporary, a significant share of programs have kept test-optional policies in place well after the public health crisis subsided.—
Anna Esaki-Smith,
Forbes.com,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Coleman declined to pursue the case, a police report said.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Across the other devices, both Mac and Wearables, Home & Accessories sales declined year over year, while the market anticipated slight growth.—
Jeff Marks,
CNBC,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Travel conditions are expected to deteriorate rapidly once snow begins, and hazardous conditions could persist into Sunday morning before snow tapers off.—
Briana Waxman,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Snow from this weekend's storm is tapering off, but Arctic air is set to rush in and send temperatures plunging even further across much of the country over the next couple of days.—
Helen Graham,
NBC news,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Video of the moment posted on TikTok showed Malone raising his cup and leaning over, as the edge of the stage fell away during the Arizona show.—
Sydney Bucksbaum,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Jan. 2026
-
Shorter wavelengths fall away and reds and oranges remain.—
MacKenzie Sigalos,
CNBC,
1 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
With a light snow falling outside McCamish Pavilion, Henri Veesaar gave North Carolina (17-4, 5-3 ACC) a devastating 1-2 punch on the inside with 20 points and 12 rebounds.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
1 Feb. 2026
-
These cycles, which last about 11 years, mark periods of rising and falling solar activity.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
1 Feb. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Drain (away).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drain%20%28away%29. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
