breaking away
1
5.0
- noun
- "A group started breaking away and fleeing," the second military official said.
- way of breaking away
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Watch on YouTubeWell, tension can mean breaking away from the conversation for a moment, maybe to talk to somebody else, but then finding ways to reinitiate.
- Well, tension can mean breaking away from the conversation for a moment, maybe to talk to somebody else, but then finding ways to reinitiate.
Examples
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One example would be Taiwan's breaking away from China.
Academic text (1996) -
One of the greatest challenges for those of us who received sight-before-sound music instruction is breaking away from tradition and teaching in a way that was not part of our own experience.
Academic text (2006) -
There is no solution other than breaking away from the Pope.
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I had decided the day before to try breaking away from him slowly.
Fiction book (1993) -
Though Lisa stepped into the new college student role, she was cautious about breaking away from thoughts and actions of her past high school life.
Academic text (2006) -
And most probably, it is the longing for breaking away from the suffocating environment that motivates James's violence and subsequent escape.
Academic text (2005) -
The parameters of the challenge allow students to explore and experiment in a nonrestrictive environment, breaking away from the prescriptive methods employed in many CAD lessons.
Academic text (2011) -
Adults and children raced around, bumping hips and shoulders, some of them breaking away, bouncing in and out of the circle, ducking beneath arms.
Fiction book (2002) -
After years of frustration, she finally made the decision to break away from the group and pursue her own path.
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The country announced its plan for breaking away from the alliance, aiming for greater independence in decision-making.
Synonyms
220
2.6
The process of moving apart or staying apart
75
1.0
The act of going away from a place or person
13
5.0
Leaving a group, country, or agreement
12
4.7
An act of leaving a group to be independent or a sudden move ahead in a race
4
6.5
The act of stopping a connection or ending involvement with something
4
6.1
The act of separating something from the thing it is connected to
3
6.1
A time when people or groups separate and go different ways
1
7.8
The act of separating something from a group or connection
1
4.3
An ending of a relationship or agreement, often sudden
1
8.0
Ending membership or connection with a group
Antonyms
How Independent
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun 'breaking away' literally describes an act of separating or leaving and this meaning is directly and predictably built from 'break' (to separate/force apart) + 'away' (from a place or group). This verb+particle composition follows a standard, cross-linguistically common pattern, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Breaking away comes from the strong image of something breaking off and moving away, like a branch snapping from a tree and falling away from the trunk. That picture of forceful separation is why breaking away means 'leaving' or 'separating' from a group or situation.