fall away

fall away idiom
  1. Also, fall off. Withdraw one's friendship, support, or allegiance. For example, After the divorce, her friends slowly fell away. [Early 1500s]
  2. 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]
  3. Drift from an established faith, cause, or principles. For example, I fell away from the Catholic Church when I was a teenager. [Early 1500]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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