drain (away)

verb

Definition of drain (away)next
as in to decrease
to grow less in scope or intensity especially gradually as the city lost population, its political influence drained away

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for drain (away)
  1. decrease
  2. diminish
  3. subside
  4. decline
  5. taper off
  6. fall away
  7. fall
Verb
  • Federal grant aid per student decreased nearly 4% in the same period, which is in line with decreases in enrollment.
    Justin Kaufmann, Axios, 9 Dec. 2024
  • In Denver, stops for speeding decreased by 35% after the change, from more than 8,200 stops in the four months before the policy change to 5,300 in the four months after the change.
    Shelly Bradbury, The Denver Post, 8 Dec. 2024
Definition of decrease
Verb
  • Climate change exacerbates the threats with rising temperatures disrupting migration patterns and diminishing the availability of milkweed, the monarch caterpillar's essential food source.
    Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024
  • Helping to model that behavior and normalizing outreach for support is a great way to diminish the stigma.
    Subha Barry, Forbes, 10 Dec. 2024
Definition of diminish
Verb
  • The tension subsides only in the last iteration, as the bare interval A-E swells and then breaks off.
    Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 2 Dec. 2024
  • The foul odors subsided when the facility closed in 2014, but a decade later, the infrastructure sits as a 47-acre blighted industrial property on the edge of the Santa Cruz River.
    John Leos, The Arizona Republic, 1 Nov. 2024
Definition of subside
Verb
  • Krager declined to specify the nature or severity of the injury at the time.
    Kerry Breen, CBS News, 14 Dec. 2024
  • Prosecutors declined to press charges against Mangum for making false allegations.
    Jenna West, The Athletic, 14 Dec. 2024
Definition of decline
Verb
  • With fewer solar storms in the weeks following the equinox, auroral activity naturally tapered off.
    Jamie Carter, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
  • Precipitation chances taper off by Thursday morning.
    Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 4 Dec. 2024
Definition of taper off
Verb
  • Kelce scored his first smash inside that region with the holiday smash, which started its time at No. 8 before falling away.
    Hugh McIntyre, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024
  • With federal support falling away and a less supportive national policy, the innovation that has come from start-ups and private companies in this space may be negatively affected.
    London Business School, Forbes, 22 Nov. 2024
Definition of fall away
Verb
  • The nearly 300-mile trek from Atlanta was pivotal in showing the Confederacy was falling apart as Sherman’s troops gutted much of the key slave state.
    Lorenzino Estrada, The Arizona Republic, 11 Dec. 2024
  • Broocks noted that the Sandy Hook lawsuit judgments could be overturned in pending appeals and got Murray to acknowledge that the Sandy Hook families' offer in The Onion bid could fall apart if that happens.
    CBS News, CBS News, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of fall
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near drain (away)

drain

drain (away)

drained

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Drain (away).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drain%20%28away%29. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

Point of View: It's Personal

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Words You Always Have to Look Up
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

8 Words with Fascinating Histories

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

10 Scrabble Words Without Any Vowels
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
naughty or nice
Are you naughty or nice? Quiz He's making a quiz, and checking it twice...