to pull away
153
3.5
- phrasal verb
- /pʊl əˈweɪ/
- Have fun! I got into my car and pulled away, waving through the window.
- begin to pull away
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Watch on YouTubeBut worst of all, we may get pulled away from our authentic selves.
- But worst of all, we may get pulled away from our authentic selves.
- What kicks in when they pull away is a fight instinct.
- I feel, I feel you kind of pulling away from me.
- Now in this cycle of love bombing, devaluing, oh, if I pull away, they may come back.
- So let's let's talk about this whole, you know, him pulling away when things seem to be going great.
- Today's topic is when she pulls away.
- And it was simultane to when he was pulling away.
- And I've been pulled away from that connection for all different reasons.
- And she as we got into the car and we're pulling away, she said, Mama, these are my people.
- So I went and grabbed him by the arm and he pulled away.
- And he was saying that to me, saying those things to me, and I was pulling away.
Examples
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You pulled away from me in there.
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After the argument, she decided to pull away from the conversation and focus on herself.
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OK, So she surprised me and she pulled away really quickly.
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All I knew was she was pulling away.
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I'm not gonna let you pull away.
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Well, I don't know what to tell you about it since I tried to kiss you and you pulled away.
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As the train begins to pull away, with me on it, the boy makes a bravado leap.
Academic text (2000) -
There was an uneasy silence in the car as we pulled away from Seventy-Seven Lower Lane.
Fiction book (1991) -
As the car started to pull away, I waved goodbye to my friends at the station.
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When he felt overwhelmed, he chose to pull away from the situation to regain his composure.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To go away from a place, person, or group
∞
1.0
Leave a place or situation
∞
3.0
Leave a place quickly or suddenly
926
1.0
To leave a place or person and go somewhere else
876
3.5
Leave a person, place, or situation without taking part anymore
711
1.6
Keep a distance from people or things you want to avoid
443
2.8
Move away from someone, or stop taking part in something
388
1.7
To step away to an earlier place
320
3.4
To move yourself and things backward from a place, person, or situation
311
2.8
To stop taking part in a place or activity
228
3.4
To stop being involved in an activity or agreement
225
4.0
To move back from a place or plan to avoid danger
151
3.2
Leave an activity or agreement you had joined
111
3.9
Stop supporting or taking part in a plan because you feel unsure
86
5.7
To make yourself less involved with someone or something
67
4.8
To move back or become less strong
66
3.2
To stop other people from getting close to you emotionally
51
5.3
To stop being part of or connected to something
42
4.1
To move backwards away from something because of fear or surprise
29
4.4
To move back from a place or activity to avoid danger and trouble
27
3.6
To escape suddenly from control, capture, or a group
24
3.8
Move away from people to a quieter place
24
4.5
To slowly lose contact and closeness with someone
17
6.8
Leave a place or start a journey
15
7.0
To end a connection with a person, group, or idea
10
4.1
To leave a group and move away in a different direction
9
4.0
To move back from a place or position, often to a safer spot
5
6.7
To stop being involved with a person, group, or idea
4
2.5
Leave a place quickly because you are in a hurry
1
7.7
To move quietly to the side and away so people do not notice you
1
7.0
Keep away from someone or something to show no connection
Antonyms
How Far
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to start moving away / create distance' is directly and compositionaly derived from 'pull' (to move or draw) combined with 'away' (from a place), following the common motion verb + particle pattern. This is a transparent, cross-linguistically common construction, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would very likely infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Pull away comes from the simple image of one thing being pulled so it moves away from others, like a car that speeds forward and leaves the rest behind. So, it means 'to start moving away' or 'to create distance' from a place, group, or person.