trailing off
Slowly losing volume
Trailing off describes speech or sound that gradually fades, becoming quieter or less distinct until it stops: Her voice trailed off as she realized no one was listening.
It often signals uncertainty, distraction, or an unfinished thought—the speaker loses momentum or decides not to complete what they were saying.
He started to explain, then trailed off mid-sentence.
- ellipsisMark indicating omitted words
- fadingGradual loss of intensity
- dwindlingProgressively becoming smaller
- pauseTemporary cessation of activity
- unfinishedNot yet complete
tapering · omission · diminuendo · waning · sentence fragment · petering out · losing steam · faltering · receding · punctuation · subsiding · hesitation · ebbing · fade-out · attenuation · daydreaming · zoning out · stammering
- expressionexpress, convey, communicate, verbal, nonverbal
- declinedecline, in decline, decrease, downswing, on the decline
- decliningdeclining, waning, fading, diminishing, decreasing
- speech habitsmumbling, stuttering, stammering, rambling, interrupting
- Incomplete Actionsunfinished, partial, halfway, midway, interrupted
- Timid expressionsum, uh, well, maybe, perhaps
trailing offcrescendoing
Growing progressively louder
getting louder · building up · swelling · amplifying · rising
trailing offfollowing through
Completing what was started
seeing through · completing · concluding · wrapping up · bringing home
trailing offbuilding up
Increasing gradually
ramping up · picking up steam · accelerating · intensifying · escalating
trail, trailer, trailing, trails, trailblazer, trailers, trailblazing, trailhead, trailheads