RUN AWAY Synonyms: 158 Similar and Opposite Words

run away 1 of 3

verb

Definition of run away

as in to escape

to get free from a dangerous or confining situation ran away from an unhappy marriage

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to retreat

to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening the child runs away from large dogs

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

runaway

2 of 3

adjective

as in rampant

showing no signs of being under control a region plagued by runaway suburban sprawl

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

runaway

3 of 3

noun

as in sweep

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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 run away

Verb

The video shows a black SUV speeding over a median and driving toward a man who is running away. — Lekan Oyekanmi, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026 Walker arrives at the scene and notices a man running away with a gun in hand. — Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2026

Adjective

Bomis briefly considered trying to monetize the site’s runaway success. — Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2026 The trio, already established stars, had such charisma on stage that Comic Relief became a runaway success for the charity and HBO, distributing $50 million toward health care services for unhoused people across the country. — Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 20 Oct. 2026

Noun

But those observations are more compelling when applied to Alice, a former teen-age runaway who, in another life, might have ended up where Catherine is now. — Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 30 July 2026 Van Dokkum was not involved in the study but did lead the 2023 team that found the potential runaway with a tail of stars. — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 29 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for run away

Recent Examples of Synonyms for run away

Verb

For all its tests, the company builds realistic simulated environments, red teams these environments itself and with third parties to see whether they can be escaped, and monitors what agents do.

— Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
Most of the work of recovery is about treating whatever is causing people to escape their lives into endless scrolling and stimulation, Kardaras says.

— Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of escape

Verb

Longtime collaborator Erik Blood foregrounds Butler’s dry drum machines in the mix, letting every other element shuffle around them, snaking toward the spotlight for a brief moment and retreating back into the brume.

— Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 23 Oct. 2026
If broadcaster partnerships are helping Netflix expand its offering in Europe and Latin America, India shows why the streamer is unlikely to retreat from investing in local originals.

— Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of retreat

Adjective

In fact, the recent regulations from the Treasury Department do little to hide the exclusion and theft rampant in the program.

— Denise Forte, Baltimore Sun, 21 Oct. 2026
At the same time, Sanaa sympathized with the police, who were far outnumbered by vandals, many of them young men from France’s poorest suburbs, where youth unemployment is rampant.

— Michael Finnegan, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of rampant

Noun

Murphy celebrated Milwaukee’s NL Championship Series sweep by saying the Los Angeles Dodgers had Hall of Famers but his team had gamers.

— ABC News, ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026
Its variable-sweep wings can be adjusted between 20 and 65 degrees, allowing the bomber to operate efficiently at lower speeds and during supersonic flight.

— Muskan Bhatia, Interesting Engineering, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of sweep

Verb

Jaros and Rauh calculate that the state will lose money so long as 24 percent of the tax base flees, a condition that’s already been met.

— Ramesh Ponnuru, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2026
Some senators fled while others braced themselves inside the Senate chamber as Officer Eugene Goodman tried to reason with the mob, and Senate staffers barricaded themselves in offices, hiding.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of flee

Adjective

Weapons, on the other hand, need a much higher concentration—90 percent—to spark an uncontrolled reaction.

— Nick Bockelman, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Causes may include uncontrolled high blood pressure, trauma from a fall or accident, or overtreatment of blood thinners.

— Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of uncontrolled

Noun

The blowout news from SpaceX’s Q3 earnings wasn’t the rocket and AI giant’s outstanding performance that far exceeded even the analysts’ elevated expectations, but Elon Musk’s revelation that SpaceX and Tesla are weighing a merger.

— Shawn Tully, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
Then came Tuesday's blowout SpaceX earnings, and growth roared back.

— Todd Gordon, CNBC, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of blowout

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runaround

run away

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Style

“Run away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/run%20away. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of run away

verb

adjective

noun

Example Sentences

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