1 A2 neutral
To move someone or something physically away from you by pushing.
"She pushed away her plate, having barely eaten anything."
separable
push away
B1 neutral separable transitive
To physically move someone or something away, or to emotionally reject or distance oneself from someone.
In plain English
To move something away from you, or to stop letting someone be close to you.
What does "push away" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 B1 idiomatic neutral
To reject or emotionally distance oneself from someone, often unintentionally due to fear or personal issues.
"He has a habit of pushing away the people who care about him most."
separable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
Transparent — to push something in a direction away from oneself.
Actually means
To move something away from you, or to stop letting someone be close to you.
Usage tip
The emotional sense is very common in discussions of relationships and psychology — people who 'push others away' create distance due to fear or trauma. The physical sense is straightforward.
Words that pair with "push away"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
help friends loved ones people plate hand support
How to conjugate "push away"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
push away
I/you/we/they
3rd person
pushes away
he/she/it
Past simple
pushed away
yesterday
Past participle
pushed away
have + pp
-ing form
pushing away
continuous
Hear "push away" in the wild
Listen to native speakers using "push away" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
Keep exploring
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