clean break
noun
: complete separation from something
When he left home, he made a clean break with the past.
Examples of clean break in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Scott’s Tom Ripley was a clean break from that of Matt Damon; instead of a petulant pretty boy seized by envy and lust, this Ripley was older (Scott is in his late forties) and scarier, a lonesome manipulator with a murderous gleam in his eye.
—
Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
Dawn Richard + Spencer Zahn / Zebulon / Dec. 2
Richard deserves a clean break from any Diddy news in her life.
—Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 24 Nov. 2024
This is not a clean break for the Tsitsipas family.
—Ben Burrows, The Athletic, 9 Aug. 2024
Was there a clean break between writing Body Building and this record?
—Liam Hess, Vogue, 25 Oct. 2024
Ghosting is a clean break to the relationship, while submarining is a lingering, unhealthy, and toxic connection that just can’t go away.
—Dominique Fluker, Essence, 11 Oct. 2024
For Wolfe, a clean break from ultrarunning has proved elusive.
—Meaghen Brown, Outside Online, 12 June 2015
After years of Trump’s defilement of the public trust, his degradations and humiliations and raw displays of malice, the immediate aftermath of the Capitol attack seemed like maybe, finally, a clean break.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 6 Jan. 2024
There are so many avenues to staying in touch that a clean break is impossible.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 12 Feb. 2024
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Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
Dawn Richard + Spencer Zahn / Zebulon / Dec. 2
Richard deserves a clean break from any Diddy news in her life.
—Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 24 Nov. 2024
This is not a clean break for the Tsitsipas family.
—Ben Burrows, The Athletic, 9 Aug. 2024
Was there a clean break between writing Body Building and this record?
—Liam Hess, Vogue, 25 Oct. 2024
Ghosting is a clean break to the relationship, while submarining is a lingering, unhealthy, and toxic connection that just can’t go away.
—Dominique Fluker, Essence, 11 Oct. 2024
For Wolfe, a clean break from ultrarunning has proved elusive.
—Meaghen Brown, Outside Online, 12 June 2015
After years of Trump’s defilement of the public trust, his degradations and humiliations and raw displays of malice, the immediate aftermath of the Capitol attack seemed like maybe, finally, a clean break.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 6 Jan. 2024
There are so many avenues to staying in touch that a clean break is impossible.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 12 Feb. 2024
Dictionary Entries Near clean break
Cite this Entry
“Clean break.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clean%20break. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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