pulling away

verb

present participle of pull away
as in detaching

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pulling away
  1. detaching
  2. disengaging
  3. flying
  4. disentangling
  5. fleeing
  6. backing down
  7. shrinking
  8. flinching
Verb
  • Orion and the Artemis III crew will stay docked with Starship for about a day before detaching to begin preparations for their return to Earth.
    — Josh Dinner, Space.com, 20 July 2026
  • Clean the Mouthpiece, Straw, and Lid After detaching the straw, use a straw cleaning brush or a pipe cleaner to thoroughly scrub it with a mild detergent.
    — Nafeesah Allen, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 July 2026
Definition of detaching
Verb
  • In reality, Loesby contends, many struggles reflect predictable structural mismatches — a lawyer who prefers depth and analysis struggling in a role that rewards constant responsiveness, or one who thrives on collaboration disengaging in isolation.
    — Malana VanTyler, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Tolerating Chinese regional hegemony would throw East Asian allies under the bus, and disengaging from the Middle East would leave Israel to fend for itself.
    — Leonard A. Schuette, Foreign Affairs, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of disengaging
Verb
  • Peden has their own professional flying grooms that travel with the horses for championships and Olympic flights, while there are also vets and stable grooms, such as Vard on board.
    — Danielle Rossingh, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Roundabout 100, most of them leased, flying more than double that number in flights each day to destinations across the globe.
    — Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of flying
Verb
  • Cutting Iran off completely from the UAE could deal a serious blow to the Islamic Republic’s economy — but experts say disentangling the pair’s commercial ties could prove difficult.
    — semafor.com, semafor.com, 20 Aug. 2026
  • New characters and backstory details are dropped in before existing loose ends are tied up, resulting in unclear motivations and convoluted layers of subplot that, ultimately, do not prove relevant enough to have been worth disentangling.
    — Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of disentangling
Verb
  • Step Back Kenya has long been a refuge for people fleeing conflicts in neighboring countries, from Somalia and Sudan in the early 1990s to South Sudan, Burundi and the DR Congo.
    — Vivianne Wandera, semafor.com, 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
Definition of fleeing
Verb
  • Unfortunately, because the militias are extremely willing to use force against their own people, including against security forces, the government finds itself in a position of backing down in the face of these militias.
    — Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 6 Sep. 2026
  • But the hardliners appear to have gained the upper hand, and Iran shows no sign of backing down.
    — Matthew Lee, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of backing down
Verb
  • The central region keeps shrinking, concentrating motion into an increasingly small area.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 8 Sep. 2026
  • That safety net is gone, and the margin for error is shrinking with it.
    — Richard McSweeney, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of shrinking
Verb
  • The Value Of Clarity​ Clarity is the ability to answer three questions without flinching.
    — Andrew Kokes, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Amy Adams’ Anna Bowden — who has a complicated history with Max as his former lawyer — peeks through the curtain to spy on him, flinching as Max insists on snapping his own broken finger into place.
    — Benjamin VanHoose, PEOPLE, 6 July 2026
Definition of flinching
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.

Browse Nearby Words

pulling a face
pulling away
pulling down
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Cite this Entry

“Pulling away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pulling%20away. Accessed 11 Sep. 2026.

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