as in decreases
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 falls away
Beyond them, the concrete of the 21st century falls away, replaced by creamy pillars and marble paving stretching into the distance, with green hills beyond.
—
Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 9 Feb. 2026
Perusing the peanut butter and chocolate chip cookie recipe that Khoury has given Vogue from his book (yes, the one Nigella Lawson loves), any cynicism falls away.
—Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 4 Dec. 2025
The doc conceit falls away, replaced by a shallow attempt at the eerily elegant, off-kilter horror style codified by 2018’s Hereditary.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2025
The world falls away below while autumn air embraces you and bursts of color paint the seams between the pines.
—Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 10 Oct. 2025
Thrill seekers stand on a trap door before the floor falls away, plunging riders through the loops and into a splash pool.
—Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 22 Sep. 2025
Yet when the family returns to Bilbao, the soundtrack falls away.
—Callum McLennan, Variety, 22 Sep. 2025
The question with anything like this is whether a stricter application of the rules is here to stay or just a fad that, much like a New Year’s resolution, starts promisingly but quickly falls away.
—Stuart James, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2025
When all of the ornamentation falls away, especially now that the show’s in its third season, Billeter thinks that the camera and the composition of the frame can really get at the emotional storylines.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 12 Aug. 2025
Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 9 Feb. 2026
Perusing the peanut butter and chocolate chip cookie recipe that Khoury has given Vogue from his book (yes, the one Nigella Lawson loves), any cynicism falls away.
—Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 4 Dec. 2025
The doc conceit falls away, replaced by a shallow attempt at the eerily elegant, off-kilter horror style codified by 2018’s Hereditary.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2025
The world falls away below while autumn air embraces you and bursts of color paint the seams between the pines.
—Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 10 Oct. 2025
Thrill seekers stand on a trap door before the floor falls away, plunging riders through the loops and into a splash pool.
—Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 22 Sep. 2025
Yet when the family returns to Bilbao, the soundtrack falls away.
—Callum McLennan, Variety, 22 Sep. 2025
The question with anything like this is whether a stricter application of the rules is here to stay or just a fad that, much like a New Year’s resolution, starts promisingly but quickly falls away.
—Stuart James, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2025
When all of the ornamentation falls away, especially now that the show’s in its third season, Billeter thinks that the camera and the composition of the frame can really get at the emotional storylines.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for falls away
Verb
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Conductance decreases exponentially as the molecule gets longer, meaning longer molecules carry less current.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
31 Jan. 2026
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These include older adults (partly because the skin’s ability to synthesize vitamin D decreases with age) and people with certain medical conditions such as celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and other disorders that interfere with the body’s ability to absorb dietary fat.—
Stacey Colino,
Time,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Maybe, too, Giannis gets hurt again in March and his trade value diminishes a bit more.—
Dave Hyde,
Sun Sentinel,
4 Feb. 2026
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Critics of this new federal tax scholarship program such as the Chicago Teachers Union, the Illinois Federation of Teachers and other lobbying groups say that this funding program takes money away from public education and diminishes schooling opportunities in favor of private or religious schools.—
Froylan Jimenez,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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At others, the episode tails off; dialogue subsides into silence, as though by default.—
Dan Sheehan,
Literary Hub,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Lahey said normal response to intense emotional stress typically subsides quickly.—
Donna Vickroy,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Hypothermia is a condition in which the body’s core temperature falls below 95 degrees.—
William Lee,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Feb. 2026
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Cleaning your oven, however, is something that falls within the former category.—
Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner,
Martha Stewart,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Even after the snow tapers off, the weekend will remian breezy and cold across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, with wind gusts of 30 to over 60 mph possible.—
Mirna Alsharif,
NBC news,
31 Jan. 2026
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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
Verb
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Using rolling peaks, which measure declines from the most recent market high rather than calendar periods, the S & P 500 has gone 185 days without a 10% drawdown, a stretch that, by itself, does not signal an imminent correction.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
26 Jan. 2026
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Calls for repeal come with leaders of Balboa Park museums and other organizations saying that declines in park visits have ranged from 20% to more than 50% and that overall annual revenue could drop by $20 million to $30 million.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Falls away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/falls%20away. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.
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