Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Having separated or advocating separation from another entity or policy or attitude: Describes a group or faction that has physically or ideologically split from a larger organization, often to form a new, independent one. It implies a decisive and often contentious separation.

2. Noun:

   • The act of breaking away or withdrawing from: The event or process of separating from a larger group, organization, or established pattern.
   • A breaking away from family and neighborhood: Can describe a social or personal separation from traditional ties or environments.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • The breakaway republic declared its independence after a long conflict.
  • A breakaway faction of the political party formed its own coalition with a new manifesto.

• Noun:

  • The breakaway of several key members weakened the original union.
  • His move to the city was a symbolic breakaway from his rural upbringing.

Advanced Usage

• In sports, particularly cycling or hockey, a "breakaway" refers to a competitor or a small group that surges ahead of the main pack.
  • The cyclist made a decisive breakaway in the final kilometer to win the race.
• In geology, a "breakaway" can describe a point where a piece of land has separated, such as a cliff face that has collapsed.
  • The landslide started at a major breakaway on the mountain's slope.

Variants and Related Words

• Break away (phrasal verb): To separate from a group or to escape.
  • Several countries decided to break away from the federation.
• Breakaway group/nation/faction (compound noun): Common collocations using the adjective form to specify the separating entity.

Synonyms

• Adjective: Separatist, splinter, dissident, renegade.
• Noun: Secession, defection, split, withdrawal, departure.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Break away: To detach or separate oneself.
  • She felt the need to break away from the company's outdated practices.
• Break off: To end a relationship or connection abruptly. (Note: This is a distinct phrasal verb with a similar concept of separation).
  • The negotiations broke off after no agreement was reached.

Related Idioms

• Make a clean break: To separate from someone or something completely and finally, often to start anew. This idiom shares the core concept of a decisive separation found in "breakaway."
  • After the divorce, he moved abroad to make a clean break from his past.

Adjective

1. having separated or advocating separation from another entity or policy or attitude
   • a breakaway faction

Noun

1. the act of breaking away or withdrawing from
   • there was a breakaway by the discontented members
   • a breaking away from family and neighborhood