Definition of leavenext
1
2
as in to bequeath
to give by means of a will I'm going to leave all of my possessions to my children

Synonyms & Similar Words

3
as in to quit
to give up (a job or office) he left his job in the city and moved out into the country

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

4
5
6

leave

2 of 2

noun

1
as in vacation
a period during which the usual routine of school or work is suspended the soldier was on leave for three days before having to report back to base

Synonyms & Similar Words

2
3

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of leave
Verb
The Russian military cannot take over cities and towns in a quick offensive that leaves most of the infrastructure intact. Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2026 Heder didn’t want to disrupt the schooling of her two young children, ages 10 and 12, and has become too enmeshed in the area to want to leave it. Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Noun
Rapid defoliation, black stem streaks, and browning leaves with spots across them are common signs of a fungal infection like boxwood blight. The Spruce, 8 Sep. 2026 Beware of lilies, which are toxic to cats; even chewing the leaves or licking pollen off their fur while grooming can be fatal. Emily Tarinelli, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for leave
Recent Examples of Synonyms for leave
Verb
  • To reach the quarterfinals in New York, Zheng had to accept her newfound station in tennis — not to abandon her confidence for the sake of humility, but to combine her natural self-belief with acceptance of her reality and a new perspective.
    Ava Wallace, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Masson credited the town’s surveillance cameras with capturing the fleeing pair abandoning at least one of the paintings and the city’s police force with a quick response.
    News Desk, Artforum, 8 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • More than a century after a rare painting, recently attributed to Gian Lorenzo Bernini, was bequeathed to the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien in 1920, the painting, Portrait of an Old Man, will go on display on December 2, per reports.
    News Desk, Artforum, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Youthful ambition bequeathed them unpredictably shifting time signatures, a daunting nylon-string intro, some odd musical shifts during the guitar-solo section, and a long list of other complexities.
    Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 14 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Staff quit without notice – presumably for better pay or shorter shifts at nursing homes and hospitals.
    Jayme Fraser, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2026
  • McCalla wanted to bridge these social divides, which eventually led him to quit football to do more on campus.
    Jesse Dougherty, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Recent polling handed Sand a slight edge over Lahn, with Emerson College Polling showing a 49%-46% split in the Democrat’s favor.
    Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 8 Sep. 2026
  • For more than a decade, the internet handed entrepreneurs a remarkable shortcut.
    Richard McSweeney, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • By the time Warners dumped it into theaters, however, too many bad feelings had accumulated between the executives and Ferrara for anyone to have much incentive to make the picture a success.
    Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Auger-Aliassime was moving lethargically, not showing a lot of energy, dumping water on his head during changeovers to cool down.
    Lukas Weese, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Fulham’s centre-backs are far apart, and players who have had to run 60 yards back towards their own goal are unsurprisingly letting runners go.
    Thom Harris, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The sequel has none of the joy of the original, only the calculated machinations of studio executives and actors who won’t let their characters grow.
    Britina Cheng, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Bieber celebrated her eighth wedding anniversary with husband Justin on a scenic vacation, which is where said sweater-season nails made their appearance.
    Kara Nesvig, Allure, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Love of Your Life transforms into a mourning vacation, as Maya leaves her new family behind to drink, eat and f*ck her way through years of her life, doing telehealth to pay the bills.
    Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 14 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • With permission turned on, OlloBot says the SS1 can recognize moments such as laughter or celebrations and capture them automatically.
    Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 5 Sep. 2026
  • In 1971, for instance, eighty-six per cent of English elementary-school children had permission to walk home from school alone; that number dropped to thirty-five per cent in 1990, and to twenty-five per cent in 2010.
    Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Leave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/leave. Accessed 15 Sep. 2026.

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