PULL AWAY Synonyms: 39 Similar and Opposite Words

pull away

verb

Definition of pull away

as in to detach

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Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of pull away Cornbread is done when the edges start to pull away from the pan, the top is lightly browned, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean (though a few crumbs are okay). — Martha Stewart, 24 Sep. 2026 Neither team could pull away, and Atlanta struggled with turnovers in the second quarter, which rocked it off its rhythm. — Micahya Costen, AJC.com, 20 Sep. 2026 But that still doesn't explain why their incomes exploded, helping the top one percent pull away from everyone else. — Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 14 Sep. 2026 The experience of coaching together throughout a 12-1 season at James Madison in 2025 was present in the adjustments that helped the Bruins pull away to defeat Cal, 45-24, to kick off the Bob Chesney era. — Aaron Heisen, Daily News, 6 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for pull away

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pull away

Verb

Plus, the magnetic back plate detaches, letting gamers prop the controller and play wirelessly, like a Nintendo Switch.

— Jessica Sager, Time, 15 Oct. 2026
Shortly after the Chinese aerospace company LandSpace launched a rocket in northwestern China, its booster—the part needed to thrust the rocket into orbit—successfully detached and landed back on earth.

— Kathleen Curlee, Foreign Affairs, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of detach

Verb

During a flight from Moscow to Hong Kong in March, 1994, the pilot allowed his teen-age son to sit at the controls of the plane, and the boy unknowingly disengaged the autopilot.

— Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
With the throne disengaged from governance, petitions and reports from officials piled up unread, crucial state posts went unfilled, and the imperial bureaucracy splintered amid poisonous factional infighting.

— Carl Minzner, Foreign Affairs, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of disengage

Verb

Bassam Abed said at least 10 residences housing some 300 families were reduced to rubble, and families were not given enough time to flee.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 12 Oct. 2026
Other passengers included André Breton, Victor Serge, and Claude Lévi-Strauss—all fleeing the inferno.

— Alex Ross, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of flee

Verb

Pawlikowski’s mother and father, also named Zula and Wiktor, whose unmanageable love had kept them tangled and disentangled for decades, took their own lives in 1989, as the Cold War that had cast its chill upon their time was beginning to thaw.

— Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
His remarks escalated a confrontation over New York’s efforts to disentangle local police from federal immigration enforcement.

— María Luisa Paúl, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of disentangle

Verb

The company had been gearing up to fly several more this year having already been given approval to fly as many as 12 times a year.

— Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Oct. 2026
For the 31st time as secretary of state, Marco Rubio has left on a trip abroad, flying to Uzbekistan and later India amid rumblings that America's top diplomat is ignoring pressing matters in favor of politically safer visits and meetings.

— ABC News, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of fly

Verb

Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones also have built-in ways to send photo files without relying on a messaging app that may shrink them along the way.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026
The domestic economy is otherwise moribund, hampered by bad debts and a shrinking labor force.

— RUCHIR SHARMA, Foreign Affairs, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of shrink

Verb

During the Wildcats' first attempt on the two-point conversion, a Kentucky player appeared to flinch, and while a flag was thrown, it was negated by a timeout called by the Wildcats.

— Mark Harris OutKick, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026
While Levi’s had been making a lot of noise about being a DTC-first retailer, in an interview with WWD, Gass emphasized the importance of a broad base and didn’t flinch away from what went wrong in DTC.

— Evan Clark, Footwear News, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of flinch

Verb

Before Charley could climb down, the big deer stepped out of the brush 30 yards away, stood broadside, blew a couple of times, and ran back toward the river.

— Al Dawson, Outdoor Life, 15 Oct. 2026
After the vehicle came to rest, the rescue team helped twenty volunteers climb down and position themselves inside the bus.

— Peter Hessler, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of climb down

Browse Nearby Words

pull a face

pull away

pullback

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Style

“Pull away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pull%20away. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of pull away

verb

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