push away

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Verb

push away (third-person singular simple present pushes away, present participle pushing away, simple past and past participle pushed away) (transitive)

1. (literally) To apply a force to (an entity) such that it moves to a more distant position.
2. (figurative) To reject intimacy; to reject friendship or romance; to refuse to accept or think about (something unpleasant).
   • 2025 August 15, Gooseworx, “They All Get Guns” (18:32 from the start), in The Amazing Digital Circus, episode 6, spoken by Ragatha (Amanda Hufford):

     I think... I might've... failed Pomni. Just like I failed Jax. Try too hard to get on their good side, and then I just... end up pushing them away! And then they end up hating me!

Translations

(literally) to apply a force to (an entity) such that it moves to a more distant position

• Māori: hoe
• Naga:

  Khiamniungan Naga: thòikhūa

• Polish: odpychać (pl) impf, odepchnąć (pl) pf, odsuwać (pl) impf, odsunąć (pl) pf
• Russian: оттолкну́ть (ru) impf (ottolknútʹ), отта́лкивать (ru) pf (ottálkivatʹ)
• Spanish: dar un volón, dar un empujón, dar un aventón
• Ukrainian: відшто́вхувати impf (vidštóvxuvaty), відштовхну́ти pf (vidštovxnúty)

(figuratively) to reject intimacy; to reject friendship or romance; to refuse to accept or think about — see also reject

• Polish: odpychać (pl) impf, odepchnąć (pl) pf, odsuwać (pl) impf, odsunąć (pl) pf
• Russian: оттолкну́ть (ru) impf (ottolknútʹ), отта́лкивать (ru) pf (ottálkivatʹ)
• Spanish: rehuir (es), alejar (es)
• Ukrainian: відшто́вхувати impf (vidštóvxuvaty), відштовхну́ти pf (vidštovxnúty)