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Glite Dictionary
to leave alone

to leave alone

∞ 2.3
To avoid touching and disturbing a person, animal or object
  • phrasal verb
  • /liːv əˈloʊn/
translation icon : dejar en paz
  • When she asked me for privacy, I decided to leave her alone to think.
  • leave well enough alone
  • leave well enough alone
  • just leave it alone

You might leave it alone and that might be it.

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Examples

  • I'm leaving you alone to figure out how to teach, how to be a father.

    I'm Not Gay : A Musical (2023)

  • It's like, sorry, I'm eating, leave me alone, OK?

  • And she told me, she said, now leave him alone because she knows me.

    Tom Bilyeu

  • I heard you say leave me alone and get out of here.

  • So please, just leave us alone, all right?

  • So please just leave us alone, alright?

  • If I set you free, will you leave me alone and never come back?

    Jack Be Nimble (2022)

  • I said leave him alone.

    Hitler's Children (1943)

  • "I think people were comfortable to leave them alone and look the other way."

    Academic text (2007)

  • She's like, please leave me alone, I'm trying to sleep.

Synonyms

to leave
vsto leave alone
∞ 1.6

To cause a feeling or result to remain after an event

refers to actively refraining from interference rather than passive result
to keep one's hands off
vsto leave alone
42 3.6

Not to touch or interfere with something that belongs to someone else

is a broader idea of not disturbing, not only physical contact
to leave behind
vsto leave alone
20 2.1

To not take or change something so it stays where it is

focuses on refraining from action rather than the final state
to let it alone
vsto leave alone
2 3.0

Choose not to touch or change something

is the general instruction to refrain rather than a personal choice
to leave it be
vsto leave alone
  • Informal
1 5.1

To let something stay as it is without changing it

is the neutral instruction to avoid interference rather than a rule
to get out of someone's hair
vsto leave alone
  • Informal
1 6.3

To stop bothering someone so they can work or think

applies to not disturbing people or things in any situation

Antonyms

to engage
676 3.4

To take part in an activity

to interfere
487 3.5

To get involved in a situation and make things not work as they should

How Interfering

to tamper
113 4.9
to interfere
487 3.5
to meddle
80 5.7
to interrupt
909 2.5
to leave alone
∞ 2.3
to ignore
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

leave alone infinitive
leaving alone present participle
leaves alone third person singular
left alone past
left alone past participle

Morphology

leave + alone

The meaning 'to not disturb or interfere' is directly derivable from combining 'leave' (to cause to remain in a state) with 'alone' (by oneself). This is a common, compositional verb + adjective construction found across languages and would be immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.

Etymology

Leave alone comes from the simple image of walking away and letting someone be: to leave a person and let them stay alone. So, it means 'to not disturb or bother someone or something'.