to drop away
2
3.3
- phrasal verb
- /drɑp əˈweɪ/
:
disminuir
- By Christmas, many of these would have dropped away—seduced by other courses, or intimidated by the regulars, or overcome by domestic drama or personal lassitude.
Or when did that fear drop away?
- Or when did that fear drop away?
- They see such a rich terrain in front of them that suddenly the arrogance drops away.
Examples
-
But then they drop away entirely.
Academic text (1991) -
She is backlit now, and the years drop away from her face.
Fiction book (2002) -
Yeah, the old ones all drop away.
-
Maybe the next call, maybe tomorrow, the feeling would drop away.
-
And that night I was telling you about, when she almost died, the sound dropped away.
-
3.7 miles down the ocean floor drops away.
-
All the loud chatting that fills our lives dropped away as we went along the river.
Academic text (2001) -
People get pretty tough with each other and, and the civility begins to drop away and, and people become a little more raw, particularly over time.
-
Elsewhere, the relentless noise complaints seem to have dropped away somewhat, possibly due to the support of the night entertainment industry being in the Greens' manifesto.
Blog text (10) -
As the sun set, the noise from the city began to drop away, leaving only the sound of waves crashing on the shore.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Become less in number or amount
∞
1.0
To fall to a lower amount or level
531
1.2
To slowly become less visible, bright, or loud
321
1.9
To become less in amount, size, or value
221
2.8
To become lower, for example temperature or prices
184
3.5
To become worse or fall to a lower level
93
4.0
An effect or feeling that becomes less strong and then stops
72
5.1
To become smaller or less in number over time
69
3.0
To become weaker and then disappear over time
49
2.6
Become less in number, amount, or quality
46
2.7
To become less strong or loud over time
21
3.5
To become less in number or amount
19
4.3
To become less in amount or quality
14
6.6
To fall in value after a period of rapid rise
9
4.0
To become gradually less strong or severe
9
5.6
To slowly become weaker and then stop
9
4.5
To become smaller or weaker over time until it stops
8
4.2
To become quieter and then stop
6
3.6
Begin to fall after rising or staying steady
3
3.4
To slope downward toward a lower level
1
4.6
Slowly get smaller in number or amount until nothing remains
1
5.6
To move back slowly, like water leaving a shore
1
5.1
To become slowly smaller or less until almost nothing remains
To flow back or become less strong slowly
Antonyms
How Much
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to decrease or fall gradually' is directly derivable from combining 'drop' (to decline or fall) with 'away' (to disappear or fade out); the particle adds a sense of continuation or fading that transparently modifies the verb. This motion/gradual-loss pattern is common in English phrasal verbs and cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The expression drop away comes from the image of things that drop and move away from a group, like leaves falling from a tree or people leaving a room one by one. That's why it means 'to decrease' or 'fall to a lower level'.