wear off

phrasal verb

wore off; worn off; wearing off; wears off
: to gradually decrease, disappear, or stop
The painkillers wore off after a couple of hours.
The shine on the leather will wear off pretty quickly.
After you drive a new car for a while, the novelty wears off.

Examples of wear off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The series mostly kept up a basic standard of quality, although to diminishing returns, throughout the 2000s GameCube era, but by 2007’s Mario Party 8 for the Wii, the novelty had worn off. Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2024 The emotional high wears off quickly, leaving a void often filled with the pursuit of the next shiny object. Dan Pontefract, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2024 Stylistic eruptions interrupt the production — video effects, dancing, the world freezing in place around Mel, an onscreen meter to illustrate Mel’s Percocet wearing off. Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2024 As old and young Elliott – who manage to maintain a connection even after the drugs wear off – face up to what life has in store, the laughter turns to poignant tears. Stuart Miller, Orange County Register, 10 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for wear off 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wear off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Cite this Entry

“Wear off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wear%20off. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on wear off

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!