departure
/dɪˈpɑːtʃə
/noun [mass noun]
1The action of leaving, especially to start a journey: the day of departure [count noun]: she made a hasty departure...
- Their approach may have triggered the thief's hasty departure, said Wade.
- The departure lounge at Kirkwall was packed with enough local worthies to fill a jumbo jet.
- About 30 minutes later I questioned my hasty departure and returned to check out the price.
Synonyms
leaving, going, going away, going off, leave-taking, withdrawal, exit, egress, quitting, decamping, retreat, retirement, retiral;
flight, fleeing, running away, desertion;
setting off, setting out, starting out
1.1 [count noun] A deviation from an accepted, prescribed, or usual course of action: the album is not a radical departure from the band’s previous work...
- It was, of course, a huge departure from the tradition represented by Perkin.
- Of course, this means a radical departure from current planning processes.
- The first shift required is a departure from being concerned only with patients who are referred to outpatient clinics.
Synonyms
deviation, divergence, digression, shift, variation, change
change of direction, change, difference of emphasis, innovation, novelty, rarity
1.2 Nautical The amount of a ship’s change of longitude.Since a ship rarely sails for any length of time due east or due west, the difference in departure cannot ordinarily be found as in ordinary sailing....
- Therefore, in plane sailing, the departure between two places is measured generally on that parallel of latitude which lies midway between the parallels of the two places.
Origin
Late Middle English: from Old French departeure, from the verb departir (see depart).