Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb wear_away

3 senses of wear away

Sense 1
whittle away, whittle down, wear away -- (cut away in small pieces)
       => damage -- (inflict damage upon; "The snow damaged the roof"; "She damaged the car when she hit the tree")

Sense 2
wear away, wear off -- (diminish, as by friction; "Erosion wore away the surface")
       => remove, take, take away, withdraw -- (remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract; "remove a threat"; "remove a wrapper"; "Remove the dirty dishes from the table"; "take the gun from your pocket"; "This machine withdraws heat from the environment")

Sense 3
erode, gnaw, gnaw at, eat at, wear away -- (become ground down or deteriorate; "Her confidence eroded")
       => decay, crumble, dilapidate -- (fall into decay or ruin; "The unoccupied house started to decay")