fall away

verb

1. (of friendship) to be withdrawn

2. to slope down

Idioms and Phrases

Also, fall off . Withdraw one's friendship, support, or allegiance. For example, After the divorce, her friends slowly fell away . [Early 1500s]

Also, fall off . Gradually decline in size or strength, as in The breeze slowly fell away , or, as Shakespeare put it ( King Lear , 1:2): “Love cools, friendship falls off, Brothers divide.” [Early 1500s]

Drift from an established faith, cause, or principles. For example, I fell away from the Catholic Church when I was a teenager . [Early 1500]

Example Sentences

BBC Sport takes a look at some names who broke through at a young age, but then fell away.

From BBC

He is likely to drop out of the top 10 when his points from last year's run to the semi-finals fall away.

From BBC

He started last season well too, with four goals in his first eight games, but then the confidence in his tricky dribbling fell away.

From BBC

Injuries plagued Arteta's side last season and they ended the season with limited options in the final third as they fell away in the title race.

From BBC

Gainer, who won her first Ladies European Tour event in February, had a closing birdie in a three-over 74 as she fell away.

From BBC

Related Words

• abate 
• degenerate 
• deteriorate 
• die down 
• die out 
• diminish 
• dwindle 
• ease off 
• fall back 
• lessen 
• melt 
• peter out 
• recede 
• shrink 
• slacken 
• wane 
• weaken