ebb away
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Verb: - To gradually decrease, decline, or diminish in intensity, strength, or presence. It describes a slow, often steady, withdrawal or reduction, similar to the tide receding from the shore.
Usage
This verb is used to describe a process where something becomes weaker, less noticeable, or less available over time. It often carries a sense of gradual loss or fading. It is typically used intransitively, meaning it does not take a direct object.
Examples
- Verb:
- Her strength began to ebb away after the long illness.
- Public support for the policy has slowly ebbed away over the last year.
- As the evening wore on, the noise from the party ebbed away.
Advanced Usage
- "to ebb away to nothing": To diminish completely until there is nothing left.
- His initial enthusiasm ebbed away to nothing after facing constant setbacks.
Variants and Related Words
- Ebb (verb): The core verb, meaning to recede or fall away. "Ebb away" is a phrasal verb that intensifies the sense of gradual decline.
- The floodwaters will ebb by morning.
- Ebbing (noun/gerund): The process or fact of ebbing.
- The ebbing of the tide left shells on the sand.
Synonyms
- Recede: To move back or away.
- Diminish: To become or make less.
- Wane: To decrease in vigor, power, or extent.
- Subside: To become less intense, violent, or severe.
- Dwindle: To diminish gradually in size, amount, or strength.
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Ebb and flow: To alternately increase and decrease, like the tides. This is an idiom describing a recurrent pattern of coming and going or rising and falling.
- Interest in the topic ebbs and flows over the decades.
Related Idioms
- At a low ebb: At a point of minimum energy, morale, or fortune.
- Team morale was at a low ebb after the defeat.
Verb
- flow back or recede
- the tides ebbed at noon