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to drive away

to drive away

71 3.4
To force a person, animal, or feeling to go away
  • phrasal verb
  • /draɪv əˈweɪ/
translation icon : ahuyentar
  • Conversely, doctors' absenteeism, one of the biggest problems in government hospitals, is what drives patients away.

Eunice just totally walks past us and I think and they drive her away.

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Examples

  • Sonny, behind the wheel, gets the car in gear and drives away from the crowd.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • An additional burden that marginalism carried was its mathematical seriousness, which tended to drive away those not mathematically inclined.

    Academic text (2017)
  • Maybe we should actually drive away now.

  • On the other hand, low admission standards would drive good prospects away.

    Academic text (1990)
  • All thoughts of the captain fled his mind in that instant, driven away by sudden panic.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Furthermore, Cyprian characterized the rich as those who, among other things, drive away the poor.

    Academic text (2004)
  • And you're, you are absolutely driving away some of the very best people that we recruited for Neopedia.

  • Consequently, honey-bee stings are potent enough to drive away animal invaders.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Horses were jammed against horses and men against men, the Macedonians striving to drive the Persians away from the riverbank.

  • The loud music from the party started to drive away the neighbors who had planned to enjoy a quiet evening.

Synonyms

to expel
vsto drive away
194 5.0

Force someone to leave a place, such as a school or country, often by official order

is broader and also applies to making feelings or thoughts go away
to alienate
vsto drive away
123 6.7

To make someone feel alone and lose support from others

tends to force them to leave rather than only cause social isolation
to drive off
vsto drive away
87 4.0

Force someone or something to leave using threats

often relies on social discomfort or emotional pressure rather than threats
to drive out
vsto drive away
70 3.8

Force someone or something to leave a place

often works by making people feel unwelcome rather than only removing them
to scare off
vsto drive away
68 2.7

To make people or animals go away by frightening them

is broader and can use social coldness rather than direct fear
to scare away
vsto drive away
47 2.5

Make a person or animal go away because they are afraid

often depends on discomfort or rejection rather than explicit fear
to force out
vsto drive away
46 4.4

To make someone leave a job by pressure or threats

is broader and can include indirect social actions that push people away
to send away
vsto drive away
43 3.0

Make someone leave a job or group because of a problem

also encompasses removing feelings or ideas, not only formal dismissal
to push away
vsto drive away
43 3.2

To stop other people from getting close to you emotionally

focuses on making others go rather than the self withdrawing
to move out
vsto drive away
36 2.8

To make someone or something leave a place

usually implies pushing them through discomfort rather than neutral relocation
to eject
vsto drive away
32 4.2

Force someone to leave a place

is often about causing discomfort or ending a feeling rather than only removal
to cast out
vsto drive away
31 6.2

Force someone to leave a group or place because others reject them

can be less ceremonial and also cover making feelings or thoughts disappear
to dispel
vsto drive away
29 4.6

To make a feeling or idea go away

the key also applies to causing people to leave physically, not only thoughts
to chase away
vsto drive away
26 2.6

To make people or things leave by scaring them

can instead involve creating social discomfort rather than physical pursuit
to run off
vsto drive away
25 4.7

Make someone or something go away

also covers making a feeling or thought disappear
to drive back
vsto drive away
19 4.1

Force someone or something to move away from danger

focuses on causing people to leave social spaces or remove feelings instead
to turn back
vsto drive away
17 2.0

To stop someone from going forward or entering

is about making people leave or removing feelings rather than just stopping progress
to clean out
vsto drive away
  • Informal
10 3.6

Remove people completely from a place or group because they are unwanted

is more general and can include removing feelings or ideas
to push people away
vsto drive away
8 5.6

Act in a way that makes other people avoid you

can include deliberate acts that make people want to leave, not only accident
to send packing
vsto drive away
  • Informal
8 6.5

To make someone leave quickly to show they are not wanted

often implies causing ongoing discomfort rather than only abrupt dismissal
to repulse
vsto drive away
7 7.0

To make someone or something go away

is often social or emotional, aiming to make people leave rather than repel
to chase off
vsto drive away
6 3.3

Make someone or something leave a place by running after and frightening them

often means making people feel unwelcome rather than only chasing them
to send someone packing
vsto drive away
  • Informal
4 7.9

Make someone leave quickly and forcefully

can instead mean creating social distance so people withdraw slowly
to kick-out
vsto drive away
1 4.0

To force someone to leave a place, group or job

can instead mean creating discomfort so people choose to leave
to frighten off
vsto drive away
1 3.3

To make someone or something go away by making them afraid

often uses social or emotional pressure rather than just fear
to rout out
vsto drive away
1 7.1

To force someone or something out of a place by searching

is less about formal authority and more about social exclusion or ideas
to frighten away
vsto drive away
1 2.8

To make people or animals go away by scaring them

can also remove thoughts or feelings rather than only causing fear
to chuck out
vsto drive away
  • UK
1 5.0

To force someone to leave a place usually because they cause trouble

is broader and also covers causing social distance or removing thoughts

Antonyms

583 1.0

Greet someone in a friendly way when they arrive

How Forceful

to banish
107 6.3
to expel
194 5.0
to drive away
71 3.4
to deter
94 5.6
to put off
22 3.7

Surface Forms

drive away infinitive
driving away present participle
drives away third person singular
drove away past
driven away past participle

Morphology

drive + away

The primary meaning 'to force someone or something to leave' is directly compositional from 'drive' (to push/urge) + 'away' (to another location), following a common causative + particle pattern that B1 learners can readily infer. The extended sense 'to make a feeling or thought go away' is a predictable metaphorical extension of physical removal and remains transparent from the constituents.

Etymology

The phrasal verb drive away comes from the simple image of using force or movement to push someone out of a place, like a car or a loud noise that drives birds away. So, drive away means 'to force someone or something to leave' or 'to make a feeling go away'.