Synonyms of leaving

leaving 1 of 3

adjective

as in departing

Related Words

• departing
• concluding
• final
• closing
• last
• parting
• farewell
• ultimate
• valedictory

leaving

2 of 3

noun

as in retirement

Related Words

• departing
• retirement
• leave
• departure
• exiting
• exit
• quitting
• abdication
• resignation
• stepping down
• surrender
• relinquishment
• renouncement

Dissimilar Words

• acceptance
• adoption
• embrace
• espousal
• embracement

leaving

3 of 3

verb

present participle of leave

1

as in abandoning

to cause to remain behind

you can leave your lunch in the refrigerator while we're outside

starry-eyed lovers who promise never to leave one another

Synonyms & Similar Words

• abandoning
• deserting
• dumping
• stranding
• quitting
• forsaking
• ignoring
• escaping
• forgetting
• vacating
• discarding
• marooning
• ditching
• walking away from
• relinquishing
• flinging
• shedding
• scrapping
• rejecting
• walking out on
• sacrificing
• throwing away
• jettisoning
• delivering
• surrendering
• yielding
• withdrawing (from)
• retreating (from)
• renouncing
• separating (from)
• throwing out
• taking off (from)
• cutting off
• neglecting
• giving up
• junking
• repudiating
• disregarding
• handing over
• distancing
• shucking (off)
• disowning
• abjuring

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• having
• keeping
• holding
• retaining
• owning
• possessing
• reserving
• reclaiming
• withholding
• saving
• harboring
• rescuing
• redeeming

2

as in bequeathing

to give by means of a will

I'm going to leave all of my possessions to my children

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bequeathing
• willing
• passing (down)
• deeding
• devising
• handing down
• handing on

3

as in quitting

to give up (a job or office)

he left his job in the city and moved out into the country

Synonyms & Similar Words

• quitting
• abandoning
• retiring (from)
• vacating
• giving notice
• resigning (from)
• bagging
• chucking
• stepping down (from)
• stepping aside (from)
• throwing up
• dropping out (of)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• staying (at)
• hiring (out or on)

4

as in handing

to put (something) into the possession or safekeeping of another

why don't you leave your watch with me while you swim?

Synonyms & Similar Words

• handing
• transferring
• giving
• entrusting
• delivering
• passing
• delegating
• relinquishing
• transmitting
• recommending
• committing
• trusting
• commending
• consigning
• confiding
• granting
• loaning
• reposing
• turning over
• handing over
• submitting
• assigning
• vesting
• dividing
• bequeathing
• lending
• giving over
• distributing
• conferring
• dispersing
• dispensing
• supplying
• dealing (out)
• surrendering
• furnishing
• yielding
• releasing
• willing
• turning in
• advancing
• handing in
• handing down
• handing on
• retransferring
• recommitting
• redelivering
• retransmitting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• keeping
• holding
• retaining
• reserving
• receiving
• owning
• possessing
• withholding
• taking
• accepting
• occupying
• holding back
• detaining
• taking in
• taking over

5

as in dumping

to end a usually intimate relationship with

is there ever a good way to leave a lover?

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dumping
• ditching
• abandoning
• cutting
• breaking off (with)
• jilting
• blowing off
• deserting
• kissing off
• kissing good-bye
• snubbing
• forsaking
• slighting
• brushing (aside or off)
• marooning
• quitting
• cold-shouldering
• high-hatting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• taking
• hooking up (with)
• befriending
• latching (on or onto)

6

as in letting

to give permission to

aw, leave him come

Synonyms & Similar Words

• letting
• allowing
• permitting
• authorizing
• approving
• endorsing
• empowering
• licensing
• sanctioning
• commissioning
• liberating
• freeing
• releasing
• indulging
• catering (to)
• giving in (to)
• humoring

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• prohibiting
• forbidding
• preventing
• enjoining
• discouraging
• blocking
• inhibiting
• barring
• obstructing
• curbing
• deterring
• impeding
• constraining
• holding back
• frustrating

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of leaving

Noun

Why leaving room for changes matters Weather, closures and travel delays can rewrite an itinerary overnight. — Ashley Lynch, Kansas City Star, 3 Aug. 2026

There have been other senior exec exits, with All3 COO Sara Geater and Group Director of Corporate Development Steven Brown leaving. — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 21 July 2026

Spurs finished 17th in each of the past two seasons and, while Gordon and Isak leaving was frustrating, that was also understandable. — David Ornstein, New York Times, 1 July 2026

The students, who were taking their secondary school leaving examinations when they were attacked and abducted, are between 15 and 18 years old. — ABC News, 30 June 2026

News of their leaving sent Google’s shares tumbling more than 5% on Monday. — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 23 June 2026

Investigators never found footage of her leaving, according to the outlets, and her body has not been recovered. — Christina Coulter, PEOPLE, 3 June 2026

Mascherano is not the only one leaving. — Cbs Miami Team, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2026

Mays then drove up to the man, got out of his car and shot him before getting back inside the vehicle and leaving, according to the report. — David Goodhue april 13, Miami Herald, 13 Apr. 2026

Verb

On the Eastern Plains near Manzanola, Alice Craig McDonald, 91, lives near the homestead her grandparents claimed after leaving Oklahoma by wagon in 1916 -- descendants of people born into slavery who came west looking for land of their own. — Anna Alejo, CBS News, 31 July 2026

More than 3,200 children have been killed or injured since February 24, 2022, and more than 1,700 schools and education facilities have been damaged or destroyed, leaving one in three children without full-time in-person education. — Emile Nuh, CNN Money, 31 July 2026

In just three minutes, the balm leaves hair feeling noticeably softer and smoother without coating the lengths or leaving behind residue. — Conçetta Ciarlo, Vogue, 31 July 2026

The post-credits scene in the latest Sony and Marvel movie revealed that the hero will return to the MCU and seems to be leaving Earth in his next appearance. — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 31 July 2026

Heidi Montag, who appeared on TV show The Hills alongside her husband Spencer Pratt, told media in 2012 that the couple had lost around $1 million after leaving the show. — Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 30 July 2026

With the final tour game against Sunderland taking place on August 2, Parkinson and his players won’t be back in the UK until the Monday morning (August 3) — leaving under five days to prepare. — Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 24 July 2026

The Northernmost Tree For now, most commercial breadfruit groves are still setting root, leaving the growing to the same type of people who once introduced it to the region — the plant fanatics. — Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 24 July 2026

Hermes said the court system has a way of leaving people feeling isolated. — Sophie Lindberg, Kansas City Star, 24 July 2026