make a clean break
idiom
: to end a relationship quickly
If you don't want to keep dating him, you should just make a clean break instead of dragging it out.
Examples of make a clean break in a Sentence
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Given how thoroughly Russia’s military, intelligence, and law enforcement elites have invested in the war in Ukraine and prospered from it, Putin’s successors will have little immediate incentive to make a clean break with the past.
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Alexander Gabuev, Foreign Affairs, 17 Apr. 2025
As long as the balance of power favors the Islamists, the new Syria is unlikely to make a clean break with its authoritarian past.
—Fawaz A. Gerges, Foreign Affairs, 27 Jan. 2025
Green Bay can make a clean break from Alexander this offseason, though.
—Rob Reischel, Forbes, 1 Jan. 2025
Rob, alone, manages to make a clean break from the posh world of London that he’s long yearned to fit into.
—Zachary Siegel, The Atlantic, 4 Oct. 2024
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Alexander Gabuev, Foreign Affairs, 17 Apr. 2025
As long as the balance of power favors the Islamists, the new Syria is unlikely to make a clean break with its authoritarian past.
—Fawaz A. Gerges, Foreign Affairs, 27 Jan. 2025
Green Bay can make a clean break from Alexander this offseason, though.
—Rob Reischel, Forbes, 1 Jan. 2025
Rob, alone, manages to make a clean break from the posh world of London that he’s long yearned to fit into.
—Zachary Siegel, The Atlantic, 4 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for make a clean break
Cite this Entry
“Make a clean break.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/make%20a%20clean%20break. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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