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drive away

A2 neutral separable both
In simple words

Leave in a car, or make someone go away and not come back.

Literal meaning: To operate a vehicle and move it away from a location.

Meanings

1 A2 neutral

To leave a place by driving a vehicle.

"She got into the taxi and drove away without looking back."

Grammar: inseparable
2 B1 idiomatic neutral

To cause a person, animal, or group to leave or to stop coming back, often by making a situation or environment unpleasant.

"The constant noise from the construction site drove away the restaurant's regular customers."

Grammar: separable
3 B2 idiomatic neutral

To make a feeling, thought, or memory disappear.

"Exercise and fresh air drove away the gloom she had been feeling all week."

Grammar: separable
Usage notes

The literal sense (departing in a vehicle) is very common and transparent. The figurative sense (causing someone to leave or become alienated) is also widely used in emotional and social contexts.

Commonly used with

customers friends investors car silence fear loneliness

Forms

Base
drive away
I/you/we/they
3rd person
drives away
he/she/it
Past simple
drove away
yesterday
Past participle
driven away
have + pp
-ing form
driving away
continuous

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Synonyms

leave depart repel alienate push away chase away

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