fallaway

1 of 2

adjective

fall·​away ˈfȯl-ə-ˌwā 

: made while moving away from the basket in basketball

a fallaway jump shot

fallaway noun

fall away

2 of 2

verb

fell away; fallen away; falling away; falls away

intransitive verb

1

a

: to withdraw friendship or support

b

: to renounce one's faith

2

a

: to diminish gradually in size

b

: to drift off a course

Synonyms

Verb

• abate
• de-escalate
• decline
• decrease
• die (away or down or out)
• diminish
• drain (away)
• drop (off)
• dwindle
• ease
• ebb
• fall
• lessen
• let up
• lower
• moderate
• pall
• phase down
• ratchet (down)
• rachet (down)
• recede
• relent
• remit
• shrink
• subside
• taper
• taper off
• wane

Examples of fallaway in a Sentence

Verb

as the years went by, the public's interest in the murder case fell away

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

His fallaway, one-legged jumper at 6-11 is impossible to defend. —Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 May 2023

And from the driver's seat, the thing looks racy, sporting a short, fallaway hood and sweeping lines (accentuated in the CRX by the roof tapering down behind your head to an impertinent little ducktail). —Kevin Smith, Car and Driver, 4 Mar. 2023

Verb

Herbert escaped the pocket to his left and slung a pass while falling away as defenders bore down. —Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2024

Slowly, too, his naivety and theological rigidity began to fall away. —Alex Morris, Rolling Stone, 19 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1936, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1535, in the meaning defined at sense 1a