Meaning & use
growing apart
Last updated
Meaning
phraseidiomfigurative
gradually becoming less close to someone emotionally or in interests over time
Grammar: Used as a verb phrase: they are growing apart or they grew apart.
Patterns
- grow apart from someone
- growing apart as a couple
- feel like we're growing apart
After college, many friends grow apart because they move to different cities.
They didn't argue much, but they were growing apart and eventually divorced.
I feel like my sister and I have grown apart since she had children.
Word forms
| base form | grow apart |
|---|---|
| past tense | grew apart |
| past participle | grown apart |
| -ing form | growing apart |
Common combinations
- slowly growing apart
- They had been slowly growing apart for years before they split up.
- grow apart from someone
- He grew apart from his old school friends after moving abroad.
- growing apart as a couple
- The film is about a husband and wife growing apart as a couple.
- feel like we're growing apart
- She told me she felt like we were growing apart.
Synonyms and how they differ
- drift apart
- Very similar, but drift apart often suggests a more passive, gradual separation without any clear cause.
- become distant
- Focuses on the result of not being close, rather than the ongoing process.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: growing apart or growing up?
growing apart vs growing up
Growing up means becoming an adult, while growing apart means becoming less close to someone.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'growing apart' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Growing apart means becoming less close, so 'from each other' fits. Option B confuses it with growing up, option C is not grammatical, and option D is missing 'from' and makes no sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “growing apart”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.