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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in dumping
to end a usually intimate relationship with
is there ever a good way to leave a lover?
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in letting
to give permission to
aw, leave him come
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in departing
Related Words
as in retirement
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of leaving
Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2025
The silent treatment and leaving are equally damaging, if not worse, to a relationship.
—Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 15 Sep. 2025
However, once April hit, the OLCA only had three workers left due to reassignments and voluntary leaving incentives.
—Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025
This one is very similar, initially showing Ramba Ral and Hamon leaving, with a table in the center holding host to Char Aznable and other Zeon officers (shown below).
—Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Sue threatens to call the police and an emotional Santana then shoves her backward into a bookshelf in the corner of her office before appearing slightly surprised at her own behavior and leaving.
—Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2025
Champions Liverpool are leading the way in terms of expenditure this summer — their total outlay is north of £300million — but have been selling plenty of players too, with Darwin Nunez (Al Hilal), Luis Diaz (Bayern Munich), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen) and Ben Doak (Bournemouth) leaving.
—Dan Sheldon, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2025
With a productive senior class leaving, keep an eye on Gibson to make massive strides.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Aug. 2025
Craig Shoup, Nashville Tennessean, 3 Oct. 2025
The Senate also passed, by wide margins, legislation already passed by the House that will remove the 6% sales tax from fuel sales and raise the fuel tax by 20 cents per gallon, leaving the price motorists pay at the pump about the same.
—Paul Egan, Freep.com, 3 Oct. 2025
FellinAI‘s first feature, The Sweet Idleness, imagines a world in which machines have eradicated 99% of jobs, leaving humans to a life of leisure.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2025
And in recent games, Reed has trailed the top receiver of Detroit’s opponents, with the Lions comfortable leaving him on an island if necessary.
—Colton Pouncy, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Ten years after leaving it behind, Brooke Shields is riding back into Hope Valley.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Oct. 2025
The latest incident occurred on Wednesday morning when the 29-year-old suspect, identified by federal authorities as Joshua Jahn of Fairview, Texas, opened fire on a Dallas ICE facility, killing a detainee and leaving two others critically wounded, officials said.
—Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 26 Sep. 2025
The cornea is a perfect alternating stack of tiny fibers that is so regular that light goes right through it, and the cells of the lens have lost nearly all their internal structures (organelles), leaving only a soup of almost identical proteins that don’t interfere much with the passage of light.
—Literary Hub, 25 Sep. 2025
In recent months, some in Gaza have voiced their anger at Hamas, accusing the group of refusing to end the war, leaving people to suffer without food and water.
—Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
His leaving, then, would provide the ideal opportunity for Dora to tell her parents what happened.
—Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2025
The silent treatment and leaving are equally damaging, if not worse, to a relationship.
—Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 15 Sep. 2025
However, once April hit, the OLCA only had three workers left due to reassignments and voluntary leaving incentives.
—Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025
This one is very similar, initially showing Ramba Ral and Hamon leaving, with a table in the center holding host to Char Aznable and other Zeon officers (shown below).
—Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Sue threatens to call the police and an emotional Santana then shoves her backward into a bookshelf in the corner of her office before appearing slightly surprised at her own behavior and leaving.
—Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2025
Champions Liverpool are leading the way in terms of expenditure this summer — their total outlay is north of £300million — but have been selling plenty of players too, with Darwin Nunez (Al Hilal), Luis Diaz (Bayern Munich), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen) and Ben Doak (Bournemouth) leaving.
—Dan Sheldon, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2025
With a productive senior class leaving, keep an eye on Gibson to make massive strides.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Aug. 2025
Noun
Ross and the unit's six other horses are responsible for helping the police handle crowd control, whether its amid the thousands stumbling through Lower Broadway or the rush of 65,000 fans entering or leaving Nissan Stadium for a Titans game.
—Craig Shoup, Nashville Tennessean, 3 Oct. 2025
The Senate also passed, by wide margins, legislation already passed by the House that will remove the 6% sales tax from fuel sales and raise the fuel tax by 20 cents per gallon, leaving the price motorists pay at the pump about the same.
—Paul Egan, Freep.com, 3 Oct. 2025
FellinAI‘s first feature, The Sweet Idleness, imagines a world in which machines have eradicated 99% of jobs, leaving humans to a life of leisure.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2025
And in recent games, Reed has trailed the top receiver of Detroit’s opponents, with the Lions comfortable leaving him on an island if necessary.
—Colton Pouncy, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Ten years after leaving it behind, Brooke Shields is riding back into Hope Valley.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Oct. 2025
The latest incident occurred on Wednesday morning when the 29-year-old suspect, identified by federal authorities as Joshua Jahn of Fairview, Texas, opened fire on a Dallas ICE facility, killing a detainee and leaving two others critically wounded, officials said.
—Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 26 Sep. 2025
The cornea is a perfect alternating stack of tiny fibers that is so regular that light goes right through it, and the cells of the lens have lost nearly all their internal structures (organelles), leaving only a soup of almost identical proteins that don’t interfere much with the passage of light.
—Literary Hub, 25 Sep. 2025
In recent months, some in Gaza have voiced their anger at Hamas, accusing the group of refusing to end the war, leaving people to suffer without food and water.
—Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 25 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for leaving
Verb
-
Still, large pools of undeployed capital remain available, and major institutional players show little sign of abandoning real estate as a core asset class.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Democrats returned to Washington to demonstrate unity and accuse GOP leaders of abandoning negotiations.—
Hollie Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Rewriting society’s decision-making Unlike biased pundits who hem, haw and hedge their bets, Web3 prediction markets cut through noise, bequeathing a signal that feeds into pricing mechanisms themselves.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
But so did the number of people quitting their jobs — which is a sign of confidence in their prospects of finding a better job.—
Orianna Rosa Royle,
Fortune,
30 Sep. 2025
-
James is in a much better mental place now, after quitting drinking and finding an effective therapist during the pandemic years.—
Brian Hiatt,
Rolling Stone,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Hamas, in its response, reiterated its longstanding openness to handing power over to a politically independent Palestinian body.—
Laura Kelly,
The Hill,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Tuchel called up Anderson for the first time for the World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia, handing him his debut on September 6, in a 2-0 win over Andorra.—
Paul Taylor,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
He was sentenced to life plus 15 years in a Missouri prison for killing the women and dumping their bodies.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Finally, Trump tries to infect Satan with toxoplasmosis by dumping pounds of kitty litter on him.—
Jack Dunn,
Variety,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Here, Simone’s catalog scaffolded the dancers, letting longing, refusal, and sideways joy show up with a pulse.—
Skylar Mitchell,
Essence,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Platforms would have to request access, or even offer micropayments, letting users comparison-shop.—
Julian Lucas,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
How much of the two presidents Alaskans will be able to see beyond their aircraft arriving and departing is unclear.—
Al Weaver,
The Hill,
14 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
When in a group, space out to prevent the current from transferring between individuals.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
28 Sep. 2025
-
Quarterback Kelvin Durham recorded his best performance since transferring in from Fort Valley State, where Flowers previously coached.—
Shane Connuck,
Charlotte Observer,
28 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Leaving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/leaving. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
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