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Glite Dictionary
🚶 To leave changed 🧩 To detach
to come away

to come away

2 3.0
To become loose and separate from something
  • phrasal verb
  • /kʌm əˈweɪ/
translation icon : desprenderse
  • The age-stained paper was blistered where the paste had come away from the plaster.
  • hand came away
  • finger came away
  • came away wet

Examples

  • I thought I had mashed banana all over it, but when I touched it, my fingers came away red.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • He wiped his mouth with his hand and came away with crushed flecks of dead skin.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • His hand came away wet with blood.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • His fingers come away sticky.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Blood came away on his fingertips.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • If I remove these springs, the whole front header pipe section comes away pretty easily.

    Blog text (14)

  • No matter how gently I lift the veil, your face comes away with it.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • But annoyingly it's come away from the board here, so that connector needs to go on.

  • I'm looking at this what I presume is a resistor, and it looks like the covering has come away from it completely.

  • The wallpaper started to peel, and parts of it came away from the wall.

Synonyms

to separate
vsto come away
481 2.9

To move apart or stop being together

focuses on detaching from a physical object rather than ending relationships
to disconnect
vsto come away
161 3.5

To separate something so it is no longer joined, for example remove a cable or turn off power

is about physical detachment and not mainly about stopping services or power
to come off
vsto come away
131 3.5

To become loose and fall off

is a general detachment not limited to attachment places
to fall off
vsto come away
117 2.3

Separate from something by breaking or dropping

is general separation not tied specifically to dropping or breaking
to pull away
vsto come away
86 3.5

To move away from people or a place to create space

is about becoming detached rather than actively moving oneself away
to disengage
vsto come away
82 5.3

To stop being part of or connected to something

is about becoming separated without implying an intentional release
to detach
vsto come away
16 4.0

To come apart from something it is connected to

is broader and can also describe deliberate separation as well as accidental cases
to break away
vsto come away
5 3.6

To escape suddenly from control, capture, or a group

is general detachment and does not imply escape from control or capture
to untether
vsto come away
1 6.2

To free someone or something from limits so they can act more freely

focuses on physical detachment rather than freeing from rules or limits
to unattach
vsto come away
1 6.1

To separate something from what it is connected to

is about becoming detached without focusing on an active remover
to come unstuck
vsto come away
1 5.8

To become loose and move away from a surface

is general detachment not limited to surfaces or positions
to disengaged
vsto come away
4.1

Let something that was connected become separate

is the basic present sense of becoming separated rather than a past form

Antonyms

to join
∞ 1.0

Connect two things so they become attached

to attach
459 2.5

To join or fasten one thing to another so they stay together

How Detached

to come away
2 3.0
to come off
131 3.5
to fall off
117 2.3

Surface Forms

come away infinitive
came away past
come away past participle
coming away present participle
comes away third person singular

Morphology

come + away

The meaning is related to the literal constituents: 'come' + 'away' signals moving away or leaving, and in contexts like 'came away feeling…' this motion is extended to a resultant state after an experience. However, the shift from physical movement to a resultant emotional or evaluative state is a metaphorical extension that is not fully predictable from the parts, so a B1 learner may only partially infer the precise meaning without prior exposure.

Etymology

Come away shows a very simple picture: something 'comes' and moves 'away' from a surface, like paint or a sticker lifting when you pull it. So it means 'to become detached' or 'to come off'.