run away 1 of 3

verb

Definition of run awaynext
1
as in to escape
to get free from a dangerous or confining situation ran away from an unhappy marriage

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to retreat
to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening the child runs away from large dogs

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

runaway

2 of 3

adjective

as in rampant
showing no signs of being under control a region plagued by runaway suburban sprawl

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

runaway

3 of 3

noun

as in sweep

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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 run away
Verb
Kam Patterson also features in the sketch, which culminates in his, Reiter and Thompson’s characters stealing jerseys from the empty locker room and running away. — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 26 Sep. 2026 One of the most notable moments — and the scene apparently being filmed — was a sequence of shots showing the three bandmembers running away from swarps of adoring fans. — Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 20 Sep. 2026
Adjective
Nvidia is a runaway leader, and that’s not a coincidence given where the article is headed. — Todd Gordon, CNBC, 22 Sep. 2026 There are Resident Evil games set in Spanish castles, runaway trains, ocean liners, weird mansions, the bayou, and strange theme-park-like villages, with bespoke creatures in each. — Joshua Rivera, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026
Noun
But those observations are more compelling when applied to Alice, a former teen-age runaway who, in another life, might have ended up where Catherine is now. — Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 30 July 2026 Van Dokkum was not involved in the study but did lead the 2023 team that found the potential runaway with a tail of stars. — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 29 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for run away
Recent Examples of Synonyms for run away
  1. escape
  2. retreat
  3. rampant
  4. sweep
  5. flee
  6. fly
  7. uncontrolled
  8. blowout
Verb
  • This comes after companies including OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and Google disclosed recent incidents in which their AI models escaped their sandboxes and attempted to hack other companies and access their computer systems.
    — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 29 Sep. 2026
  • The incidents range in scope from agents escaping their sandboxes and gaining access to the internet to agents deleting conversations so humans can't monitor their activity, Mills said.
    — Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of escape
Verb
  • The militant group took over roughly one-third of Iraq after key Iraqi army divisions collapsed and retreated in the onslaught.
    — Jane Arraf, NPR, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The Taurus Moon opposes Venus across your career and home zones, making recognition, responsibility, or visibility compete with the desire to retreat somewhere familiar.
    — Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of retreat
Adjective
  • When asked about rampant rumors that Sarandos had been courting HBO/HBO Max content chairman Casey Bloys for a job or production deal, the exec downplayed it.
    — Michael Schneider, Variety, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Parents can no longer rely on grades to gauge their child’s actual knowledge, but that’s also true in many wealthy school districts and even in some private schools, where grade inflation is rampant.
    — Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of rampant
Noun
  • But the sweeps are still casting a chill across this rural farming region that has relied heavily on immigrant labor since the 1950s.
    — Kirk Siegler, NPR, 28 Sep. 2026
  • The Raptors have just one playoff series victory since, a first-round sweep of the Nets in the 2020 COVID-19 postseason bubble.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of sweep
Verb
  • After war broke out over religious and political differences in 1642, people had to flee when their villages became war zones, while other places were filled with desperate refugees.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
  • The driver fled north on Highway 113 and crossed back into Sutter County.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of flee
Verb
  • Iran has said the bombers flying from the base have been used for strikes beyond the original remit and indicated that a base used to attack its territory is a legitimate target.
    — Pan Pylas, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2026
  • In 2025, a playoff game in Baltimore between the Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers was paused due to a drone flying overhead.
    — Jason Gewirtz, CNBC, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of fly
Adjective
  • The International Court of Justice (ICJ) could help stop the uncontrolled proliferation of satellites in Earth orbit, which threatens to erase stars from the sky, astronomers hope.
    — Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 28 Sep. 2026
  • This includes how the enterprise deliberately shapes its external capabilities, interfaces, standards, data exchanges and commercial dependencies without allowing the vehicle to become an uncontrolled collection of third-party technologies.
    — Rajjie Sarmey, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of uncontrolled
Noun
  • That's on the heels of a 41-7 blowout at Northwestern that was ugly enough for Deion Sanders to dismiss a handful of players for conduct detrimental to the team days later.
    — Amber Harding OutKick, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The Giants haven’t scored a touchdown since Dart got hurt seven snaps into their 28-6 Week 3 Monday night blowout loss to the Rams, though.
    — Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of blowout

Browse Nearby Words

runaround
run away
runaway
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Cite this Entry

“Run away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/run%20away. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

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