as in decreased
to grow less in scope or intensity especially gradually
as the years went by, the public's interest in the murder case fell away
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Recent Examples of fallen away
People are now seeing the vulnerability of a world that wasn’t really based on laws; it was based on norms of prosecutorial decision and discretion, and that’s sort of fallen away.
—
ArsTechnica, 8 Apr. 2026
And buying it as a second car, that phenomenon has really, really fallen away in recent years as prices have gone up and everything’s got more expensive.
—Joel Feder, The Drive, 26 Mar. 2026
Virtually nothing was left of the structure, including almost all traces of the Sun Room, whose floor had partially collapsed and fallen away to leave a gaping hole where tourists had once stood in front of the three windows.
—New York Times, 16 Mar. 2026
Still, Orlando at times this season has fallen away from its defensive identity, which in turn has stumped its offensive output.
—Jason Beede, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Feb. 2026
The backstory Decades ago, Wickenburg was known as the dude ranch capital of the world, and while nearly all of those other properties have fallen away, Rancho de los Caballeros has remained in place since 1948.
—Asonta Benetti, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Jan. 2026
In the last decade, that norm has to some degree fallen away, with voices on both the right and left likening their opponents to Nazis.
—Philissa Cramer, Sun Sentinel, 26 Jan. 2026
So, again, the narrative at the beginning of the week that these are war crimes, that's clearly fallen away and now the Democrats are peddling another lie.
—ABC News, 7 Dec. 2025
The idea of a single gene for complex traits — whether height, intelligence, mental health, or sexuality — has largely fallen away.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 3 Dec. 2025
ArsTechnica, 8 Apr. 2026
And buying it as a second car, that phenomenon has really, really fallen away in recent years as prices have gone up and everything’s got more expensive.
—Joel Feder, The Drive, 26 Mar. 2026
Virtually nothing was left of the structure, including almost all traces of the Sun Room, whose floor had partially collapsed and fallen away to leave a gaping hole where tourists had once stood in front of the three windows.
—New York Times, 16 Mar. 2026
Still, Orlando at times this season has fallen away from its defensive identity, which in turn has stumped its offensive output.
—Jason Beede, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Feb. 2026
The backstory Decades ago, Wickenburg was known as the dude ranch capital of the world, and while nearly all of those other properties have fallen away, Rancho de los Caballeros has remained in place since 1948.
—Asonta Benetti, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Jan. 2026
In the last decade, that norm has to some degree fallen away, with voices on both the right and left likening their opponents to Nazis.
—Philissa Cramer, Sun Sentinel, 26 Jan. 2026
So, again, the narrative at the beginning of the week that these are war crimes, that's clearly fallen away and now the Democrats are peddling another lie.
—ABC News, 7 Dec. 2025
The idea of a single gene for complex traits — whether height, intelligence, mental health, or sexuality — has largely fallen away.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 3 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fallen away
Verb
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Last year, the number of officers killed decreased, both in terms of officers killed as a result of felonious acts and those killed accidentally.—
Kenneth D. Robinson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
1 May 2026
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In addition, overall passenger numbers decreased 20% after Spirit exited a route, which indicates that rival airlines did not immediately step forward to fill the void.—
David Lyons,
Sun Sentinel,
1 May 2026
Verb
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However, Apple hasn’t followed its megacap peers in sinking tens of billions of dollars into building out AI infrastructure, which has diminished the stock’s correlation to the rest of the tech industry.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
30 Apr. 2026
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Still, the music flourished on terrestrial radio and music-video television, two venues for mass musical experiences whose power has diminished drastically in the streaming era.—
Jack Hamilton,
The Atlantic,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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After 16 years of one-party rule, the cost of living has been driven out of reach for working families, and quality of life has declined in too many communities.—
Steve Hilton,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 May 2026
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Seton Hall did more with less under Shaheen Holloway, but didn’t collect enough strong wins outside of the conference to flip onto the right side of the March Madness bubble and declined any other postseason invitations.—
Joe Arruda,
Hartford Courant,
2 May 2026
Verb
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But those payments have fallen short in recent years, forcing the city to pay about $51 million extra in recent years.—
Robert McCoppin,
Chicago Tribune,
2 May 2026
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The pace of launches, though, has fallen from the record 109 that Kennedy Space Center and CCSFS saw in 2025.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
1 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fallen away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fallen%20away. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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