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
-
Brent crude, the global benchmark, decreased to just more than $91 per barrel Friday afternoon after reaching lower to $89 earlier in the day.—
Ryan Mancini,
The Hill,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Though the number of deadly attacks by separatists has decreased in recent years, the conflict shows no sign of resolution.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Guthrie is 84, after all, and not in great health, so though in the first few days the focus was on trying to find her alive, at this point, the hopes of that have diminished greatly.—
StyleCaster Editors,
StyleCaster,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Quiet Maryam and mercurial Farhan—eight years apart—had often squabbled, gone through periods of not talking, but without her sister as a foil, Maryam was diminished.—
Danielle Parker,
CBS News,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
In an email, Gardner declined to comment on the specifics of the situation.—
Marvin Hurst,
CBS News,
11 Apr. 2026
-
The prosecutor declined to comment further to AP pending further investigation.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Rough waters Butler said in the Friday statement that Brian Hooker had fallen overboard the night he was arrested amid rough waters, causing an injury to his knee that has caused a limp and an abrasion.—
Marlene Lenthang,
NBC news,
10 Apr. 2026
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The grand promises have fallen short, but there’s a thriving market for AI systems that leverage humans to close gaps.—
Solo Ceesay,
Rolling Stone,
10 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fallen away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fallen%20away. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
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