phrase

• A complete separation from a situation or relationship.

  ‘Dan decided it was best to make a clean break with the past’

  More example sentences

  • ‘I do blame myself - I had made a clean break and got drawn into this situation again for no good reason.’
  • ‘They split up eight months ago over an old, and still unresolved, problem - Benjamin's refusal to make a clean break with Vanessa, a woman he no longer loves.’
  • ‘He decided that he needed a clean break and moved to a different town to start a new life.’
  • ‘I'd prefer to make a clean break and look elsewhere.’
  • ‘He was right to make a clean break with the past.’
  • ‘Of course, I'd like to retain some involvement in the business after I handed over, though perhaps there's an argument for making a clean break.’
  • ‘But councillors eventually voted to close both schools, saying it was better to make a clean break before establishing the primary school.’
  • ‘Unable to make a clean break, he dragged things out until 1999.’
  • ‘She said it was the right time to make a clean break and retire after the 1996 games.’
  • ‘He said he had no interest in becoming a manager and appeared happy to make a clean break.’