make a clean break
idiom
: to end a relationship quickly
If you don't want to keep dating him, you should just make a clean break instead of dragging it out.
Examples of make a clean break in a Sentence
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The inherent conflict of interest between those two goals is what led to the original plan to make a clean break between the two entities.
—
Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 6 May 2025
Given how thoroughly Russia’s military, intelligence, and law enforcement elites have invested in the war in Ukraine and prospered from it, Putin’s successors will have little immediate incentive to make a clean break with the past.
—Alexander Gabuev, Foreign Affairs, 17 Apr. 2025
As long as the balance of power favors the Islamists, the new Syria is unlikely to make a clean break with its authoritarian past.
—Fawaz A. Gerges, Foreign Affairs, 27 Jan. 2025
Green Bay can make a clean break from Alexander this offseason, though.
—Rob Reischel, Forbes, 1 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for make a clean break
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Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 6 May 2025
Given how thoroughly Russia’s military, intelligence, and law enforcement elites have invested in the war in Ukraine and prospered from it, Putin’s successors will have little immediate incentive to make a clean break with the past.
—Alexander Gabuev, Foreign Affairs, 17 Apr. 2025
As long as the balance of power favors the Islamists, the new Syria is unlikely to make a clean break with its authoritarian past.
—Fawaz A. Gerges, Foreign Affairs, 27 Jan. 2025
Green Bay can make a clean break from Alexander this offseason, though.
—Rob Reischel, Forbes, 1 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for make a clean break
Cite this Entry
“Make a clean break.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/make%20a%20clean%20break. Accessed 14 May. 2025.
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