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Glite Dictionary
to spirit away

to spirit away

4 8.7
To take someone or something away quickly and secretly, often in a mysterious way
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈspɪrɪt əˈweɪ/
  • Literature
translation icon : llevarse
  • The daimio and his court believe that you're a witch... ...who has somehow managed to spirit away his son.

Examples

  • But her father spirited her away.

    Elektra (2005)

  • I have a feeling they've been spirited away.

    The Lair of the White Worm (1988)

  • I must spirit you away from England.

    Honor Society (2022)

  • Where a boat was waiting to spirit them away.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • We must spirit her away from here and get that formula now.

    The Smurfs 2 (2013)

  • How could she allow herself to be spirited away?

    Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)

  • He wanted the bride's side to rise up as one and spirit her away.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • The day after the bombing, a delegation from The Children’s Embassy spirited her away among a group of Italian journalists.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • The magician promised to spirit away the audience's troubles with his enchanting performance.

  • As darkness fell, the shadows seemed to spirit away the last remnants of daylight.

Synonyms

to whisk away
vsto spirit away
8 3.9

Move someone or something quickly to another place

focuses on secret or magical removal rather than sudden visible removal
to spirit
vsto spirit away
5 7.8

To take someone or something away quickly and secretly

emphasizes mysterious or magical removal rather than mere avoidance of detection
to spirit off
vsto spirit away
1 9.4

To take someone or something away quickly and secretly

has identical meaning but uses slightly different phrasing

Antonyms

to reveal
∞ 2.3

Show something that was hidden or secret

to return
∞ 1.0

Give something back to its owner or the place it came from

How Stealthy

to spirit away
  • Literature
4 8.7
to smuggle
  • NSFW
172 3.9
to sneak away
  • Informal
17 3.6
to take
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

spirit away infinitive
spirited away past
spirited away past participle
spiriting away present participle
spirits away third person singular

Morphology

spirit + away

The verb 'spirit' (to move someone secretly) combined with 'away' (movement to another location) composes directly to the MWE meaning 'to take someone or something away secretly', so a learner who knows both constituents can infer the sense. While the phrase can carry a slightly literary or mysterious register, the semantic contribution of each part is clear and follows a common verb+particle pattern.

Etymology

The verb spirit away may come from old stories where a spirit (a ghost) quietly carried someone away, so the person seemed to disappear without being seen. That's why today spirit away means 'to take someone or something away quickly and secretly'.