break away

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Word: Break Away

Part of Speech: Verb

Meaning: 1. To escape from a place or situation. 2. To leave a group, organization, or relationship. 3. To stop doing something suddenly.

Usage Instructions:

"Break away" is usually used when someone escapes from a situation or leaves a group. It can refer to both physical escape and emotional or social separation.

Examples:

1. Escape:

   • "The rabbit managed to break away from the trap."
   • (This means the rabbit escaped from the trap.)

2. Leaving a group:

   • "After years of working together, Sarah decided to break away from the company to start her own business."
   • (This means Sarah left the company to do something different.)

3. Interrupting an activity:

   • "During the meeting, he broke away to answer a phone call."
   • (This means he stopped participating in the meeting for a moment.)

Advanced Usage:

• Figurative Meaning: "Break away" can also refer to someone becoming independent in their thoughts or actions, such as in creative fields.
  • "The artist broke away from traditional styles to create something unique."
  • (This means the artist stopped following the usual styles to create their own.)

Word Variants:

• Breakaway (noun): A sudden escape or departure.
  • "The breakaway of the small group from the larger team was surprising."

Different Meanings:

1. Physical Escape: Leaving a confined space.

   • "The prisoners planned to break away from the jail."

2. Social or Emotional Separation: Ending relationships or affiliations.

   • "After the argument, he felt it was time to break away from that friendship."

Synonyms:

• Escape
• Flee
• Withdraw
• Separate
• Depart

Idioms and Related Phrasal Verbs:

• Break off: To separate a part from a whole or to end a conversation.

  • "She broke off a piece of chocolate to share."

• Break free: To escape from confinement or control.

  • "The bird broke free from its cage."

Summary:

"Break away" is a versatile verb that can describe escaping, leaving a group, or stopping an activity.

Academic

Verb

1. flee; take to one's heels; cut and run
   • If you see this man, run!
   • The burglars escaped before the police showed up
2. withdraw from an organization or communion
   • After the break up of the Soviet Union, many republics broke away
3. interrupt a continued activity
   • She had broken with the traditional patterns
4. break off (a piece from a whole)
   • Her tooth chipped
5. move away or escape suddenly
   • The horses broke from the stable
   • Three inmates broke jail
   • Nobody can break out--this prison is high security

Synonyms

• secede
• splinter
• break
• chip
• chip off
• come off
• break off
• break out