running away 1 of 2

noun

as in leaving

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

running away

2 of 2

verb

present participle of run away
1
as in escaping
to get free from a dangerous or confining situation ran away from an unhappy marriage

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 running away
Verb
Mass shootings are rare in Poland Videos posted on social media by witnesses show people running away from the square to take cover on small streets nearby, as well as first responders trying to resuscitate victims. — Claudia Ciobanu, Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2026 Toney was running away from defenders all season and running toward the Heisman Trophy. — Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Nov. 2026 Jessie told followers to scroll to the last slide, which featured her brother-in-law, Anthony Bass — who was dressed as Spider-Man, picking her up and running away. — Entertainment Weekly, 2 Nov. 2026 In video released by police, an officer exits his vehicle and points his gun at Ryan Hinton, who appears to be running away. — Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2026 One deputy tried to use a Taser on the dog, which sent the animal running away. — Morgan Rynor, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026 Recent polls have shown Acton leading but not running away with the race. — Philip Elliott, Time, 21 Oct. 2026 Walker arrives at the scene and notices a man running away with a gun in hand. — Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2026 After running away, the suspect fired at two additional officers, Bethel said. — James Cirrone , Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for running away
  1. leaving
  2. escaping
  3. retreating
  4. departure
  5. fleeing
  6. flying
  7. going
  8. getting out
Noun
  • By Tuesday night, more than 800 people had signed it, according to the petition, with 26 leaving comments.
    — Verónica Egui Brito, Miami Herald, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Officers responded to a call about shots fired a few blocks away from Beale Street and saw a person armed with a gun leaving, said Memphis police.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of leaving
Verb
  • The same gas is commonly found escaping from magmatic vents on Earth, with the compound coming from hot magma beneath the surface.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 4 Nov. 2026
  • The celebrity barn owls’ saga follows in the footsteps of Flaco, the Eurasian eagle-owl, who captivated the city for a year after escaping from the Central Park Zoo after someone cut a hole through the mesh of his enclosure.
    — Lincoln Anderson, New York Daily News, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of escaping
Verb
  • French social media users criticized Mbappé for retreating on his comments.
    — Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 28 Oct. 2026
  • The pool is the best spot to take in the sunset before retreating to the open-air dining space for good eats and conversation.
    — Erika Owen, Architectural Digest, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of retreating
Noun
  • His departure comes as the investigation has shown signs of faltering amid a spate of staff turnovers and delays.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Nov. 2026
  • Rose’s appointment is part of a wider shake-up at Kering, including Anthony Vaccarello’s exit from Saint Laurent, and Seán McGirr’s departure from Alexander McQueen.
    — Lucy Maguire, Vogue, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of departure
Verb
  • The video shows the man fleeing from the officer, then turning around and starting to chase him, before pointing a weapon in the officer's direction.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 4 Nov. 2026
  • In the city known as the birthplace of the film industry, Hollywood jobs have been fleeing for years for cheaper locales.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of fleeing
Verb
  • In some ways, flying a plane is easier than driving a car, at least as far as automation is concerned.
    — Peter Hall, Scientific American, 3 Nov. 2026
  • So Argo’s first Chiron mission is flying on an undisclosed new commercial rocket, definitely a calculated risk.
    — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of flying
Noun
  • Seattle is 4-3 and hasn’t looked like the team that won it all last season so far in the early going.
    — OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 Nov. 2026
  • In contrast with so many other promising Canucks players of the past, such as Vasily Podkolzin or Jalen Chatfield, players the organization never took a real extended look at, Lekkerimäki has been given significant opportunity in the early going.
    — Thomas Drance, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of going
Verb
  • The officer initially followed the man in his cruiser, before getting out to pursue the man on foot.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 4 Nov. 2026
  • This isn't a quick fix for getting out of debt and alleviating financial stress.
    — Jason Stauffer, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of getting out

Browse Nearby Words

running amok
running away
running by
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Running away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/running%20away. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

The Words of the Week - Nov. 6

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All