to shut away
3
5.5
- phrasal verb
- /ʃʌt əˈweɪ/
:
aislar
- Maybe she was shut away in her room.
Examples
-
He shut himself away.
-
Why have you shut yourself away from me all day?
-
Somewhere she can just shut herself away.
-
You shut yourself away for months.
-
I will not let you shut me away in a hospital again, Where I'm so alone.
-
Figured if I shut myself away from the world for long enough eventually I'd find the words.
-
But you keep yourself shut away in an alien world, one I can't enter.
-
We've been shut away behind the Keel for almost ten years.
Fiction book (1992) -
It saddens me to see you shut away in this old house, surrounded by memories of times long past.
-
After the incident, he decided to shut away from everyone and reflect on his actions.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To fasten something with a key so other people cannot open it
300
4.0
Put someone or something in a place where they cannot leave, for example a jail
256
4.2
To keep someone or something apart from others
115
5.8
To lock someone in prison or a secure place
70
3.9
To keep something inside so it cannot escape by closing or locking
50
5.5
Lock someone inside a place so they cannot leave
32
3.4
Put someone or something somewhere they cannot leave and others cannot reach
4
7.1
To shut someone in a small room to talk or work privately
3
8.6
To shut someone or yourself away from the outside world
2
6.7
To keep somebody away from other people
Surround something completely so it cannot get out or move
To keep a person or thing alone in a quiet place away from other people
Antonyms
How Isolated
- Formal
178
4.2
3
5.5
215
4.2
256
4.2
829
2.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from 'shut' (to close or secure) plus 'away' (removed/out of sight): together they convey putting something into an enclosed or inaccessible place. This verb+particle pattern is common and has clear cross-linguistic parallels, so a B1 learner who knows both words should be able to infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Shut away comes from a clear image: someone closing a door and putting a person or thing out of sight. It joins shut ('to close') and away ('out of sight or reach'). So, the phrase means 'to put someone or something where they cannot leave, be seen, or be reached'.