ENGLISH
REFERENCE

departing

adj.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //dɪˈpɑɹtɪŋ// UK //dɪpˈɑːtɪŋ// de·part·ing

adj. leaving a place, especially at the start of a journey. You often see this word at airports or train stations to describe travel that is about to begin.

adj. relating to the act of leaving or going away, particularly in the context of travel schedules. Often used attributively to modify nouns like 'flight', 'passenger', or 'train'.


SIMPLE

The departing flight leaves from gate twelve.

CONTEXTUAL

The departing passengers gathered their luggage and moved toward the security checkpoint.

COMPLEX

The departing CEO gave a final speech to the board, outlining her vision for the company's future before her successor took over the following morning.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Usage

Typically placed before the noun it modifies; functions as a participial adjective.

Pitfall

The bus is departing to LondonThe bus is departing for LondonWhen indicating a destination, 'depart' typically takes the preposition 'for' rather than 'to'.

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