Follow vs. Fallow — What's the Difference?
Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Fiza Rafique — Updated on September 30, 2023
"Follow" means to come or go after, or to adhere to. "Fallow" refers to land that is left unplowed and unseeded for a season or more to restore its fertility.
Difference Between Follow and Fallow
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
"Follow" is primarily a verb in the English language that encompasses various meanings, all generally revolving around the notion of coming or going after someone or something or adhering to a set rule or guideline. One might follow a leader, follow a set of instructions, or follow a path. This term indicates movement or adherence and is commonly used in various contexts, from physical pursuit to conceptual adherence.
On the other hand, "Fallow" is primarily an adjective that pertains to agriculture. Fallow land is that which is left unplowed and unseeded during a growing season. The main purpose of letting land lie fallow is to allow the soil to recover its fertility. Over time, continuous farming can deplete the soil of necessary nutrients, so farmers let the land rest, or let it go "fallow", to ensure future crops can grow robustly.
It's important to note the stark difference in context for these two words. While "Follow" implies action, direction, or obedience, "Fallow" is a term of inaction, of letting something rest or remain unused. To follow is to engage, while to let something lie fallow is to disengage for the sake of restoration.
Furthermore, the two words don't sound identical but can be confused due to their similar phonetic structures. This can sometimes lead to mix-ups in writing or speech. In essence, while "Follow" is dynamic and active, "Fallow" is static and passive, emphasizing rest and rejuvenation.
Comparison Chart
Part of Speech
Primarily a verb
Primarily an adjective
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Definition
To come or go after; adhere to
Land left unplowed and unseeded for a season or more
Context
Movement, direction, obedience
Agriculture, soil management
Implication
Action, engagement
Rest, inaction
Phonetics
Sounds like "Fol-low"
Sounds like "Fal-low"
Compare with Definitions
Follow
To accept the guidance or command of.
She decided to follow her heart.
Fallow
Land that is resting to regain its fertility.
After years of cultivation, this plot is now fallow.
Follow
To engage in a pursuit aiming to catch or reach.
The detective will follow that lead.
Fallow
Land left unplowed and unseeded during a growing season.
The farmer left the field fallow to restore its fertility.
Follow
Go or come after (a person or thing proceeding ahead); move or travel behind
The men followed in another car
She went back into the house, and Ben followed her
Fallow
Characterized by the absence of activity or work.
The fallow period in her career lasted a decade.
Follow
Come after in time or order
The rates are as follows
The six years that followed his restoration
Fallow
(of farmland) ploughed and harrowed but left for a period without being sown in order to restore its fertility or to avoid surplus production
Incentives for farmers to let land lie fallow
Follow
Act according to (an instruction or precept)
He has difficulty in following written instructions
Fallow
(of a sow) not pregnant.
Follow
Pay close attention to
I've been following this discussion closely
Fallow
A piece of fallow land
Strips of summer fallow
A great estate was usually divided between fallows, grazed stubble, and wheat
Follow
Practise (a trade or profession).
Fallow
A pale brown or reddish yellow colour
Possible feather colours include fallows, pieds, and yellows
Follow
To come or go after; proceed behind
Follow the usher to your seat.
Fallow
Leave (land) fallow for a period
Fallow the ground for a week or so after digging
Follow
To go after in pursuit
Would follow his enemy to the ends of the earth.
Fallow
Plowed but left unseeded during a growing season
Soil erosion from fallow fields.
Follow
To keep under surveillance
The agent followed the suspect around town.
Fallow
Left unplowed and unseeded
Fields that had been fallow for many years.
Follow
To move along the course of; take
We followed the path.
Fallow
Characterized by inactivity
A fallow gold market.
Follow
To move in the direction of; be guided by
Followed the sun westward.
Followed the signs to the zoo.
Fallow
Land left unseeded during a growing season.
Follow
To lie in the same path as
The road follows the old trading route.
Fallow
The act of plowing land and leaving it unseeded.
Follow
To be parallel to
The road follows the river.
Fallow
The condition or period of being unseeded.
Follow
To accept the guidance, command, or leadership of
Follow a spiritual master.
Rebels who refused to follow their leader.
Fallow
To plow (land) without seeding it afterward.
Follow
To adhere to; practice
Followed family traditions.
Fallow
To plow and till (land), especially to eradicate or reduce weeds.
Follow
To take as a model or precedent; imitate
Followed my example and resigned.
Fallow
Ground ploughed and harrowed but left unseeded for one year.
Follow
To act in agreement or compliance with; obey
Follow the rules.
Follow one's instincts.
Fallow
Uncultivated land.
Follow
To keep to or stick to
Followed the recipe.
Follow a diet.
Fallow
The ploughing or tilling of land, without sowing it for a season.
Follow
To engage in (a trade or occupation); work at.
Fallow
(of agricultural land) Ploughed but left unseeded for more than one planting season.
Follow
To come after in order, time, or position
Night follows day.
Fallow
(of agricultural land) Left unworked and uncropped for some amount of time.
Follow
To bring something about at a later time than or as a consequence of
She followed her lecture with a question-and-answer period. The band followed its hit album with a tour.
Fallow
(figurative) Inactive; undeveloped.
A fallow period in one's career
Follow
To occur or be evident as a consequence of
Your conclusion does not follow your premise.
Fallow
(color) Of a pale red or yellow, light brown; dun.
A fallow deer or greyhound
Follow
To watch or observe closely
Followed the bird through binoculars.
Fallow
(transitive) To make land fallow for agricultural purposes.
Follow
To be attentive to; pay close heed to
Too sleepy to follow the sermon.
Fallow
Pale red or pale yellow; as, a fallow deer or greyhound.
Follow
To keep oneself informed of the course, progress, or fortunes of
Follow the stock market.
Followed the local teams.
Fallow
Left untilled or unsowed after plowing; uncultivated; as, fallow ground.
Follow
To grasp the meaning or logic of; understand
Do you follow my argument?.
Fallow
Plowed land.
Who . . . pricketh his blind horse over the fallows.
Follow
To come, move, or take place after another person or thing in order or time.
Fallow
Land that has lain a year or more untilled or unseeded; land plowed without being sowed for the season.
The plowing of fallows is a benefit to land.
Follow
To occur or be evident as a consequence; result
If you ignore your diet, trouble will follow.
Fallow
The plowing or tilling of land, without sowing it for a season; as, summer fallow, properly conducted, has ever been found a sure method of destroying weeds.
Be a complete summer fallow, land is rendered tender and mellow. The fallow gives it a better tilth than can be given by a fallow crop.
Follow
To grasp the meaning or reasoning of something; understand.
Fallow
To plow, harrow, and break up, as land, without seeding, for the purpose of destroying weeds and insects, and rendering it mellow; as, it is profitable to fallow cold, strong, clayey land.
Follow
(Games) A billiards shot in which the cue ball is struck above center so that it follows the path of the object ball after impact.
Fallow
Cultivated land that is not seeded for one or more growing seasons
Follow
(ambitransitive) To go after; to pursue; to move behind in the same path or direction, especially with the intent of catching.
Follow that car!
She left the room and I followed.
Fallow
Left unplowed and unseeded during a growing season;
Fallow farmland
Follow
(ambitransitive) To go or come after in a sequence.
B follows A in the alphabet.
We both ordered the soup, with roast beef to follow.
Fallow
Undeveloped but potentially useful;
A fallow gold market
Follow
(transitive) To carry out (orders, instructions, etc.).
Follow these instructions to the letter.
Fallow
Not in use or inactive.
His creativity went fallow for a few years.
Follow
(transitive) To live one's life according to (religion, teachings, etc).
Fallow
To leave land uncultivated for a period.
It's beneficial to let the soil lie fallow occasionally.
Follow
(transitive) To understand, to pay attention to.
Do you follow me?
Follow
(transitive) To watch, to keep track of (reports of) some event or person.
I followed the incumbent throughout the election.
My friends don't regularly follow the news.
Follow
To subscribe to see content from an account on a social media platform.
If you want to see more of our articles, follow us on Twitter.
Follow
(ambitransitive) To be a logical consequence of something.
It follows that if two numbers are not equal then one is larger than the other.
If you don't practise proper hygiene, illness is sure to follow.
Follow
(transitive) To walk in, as a road or course; to attend upon closely, as a profession or calling.
Follow
In billiards and similar games, a stroke causing a ball to follow another ball after hitting it.
A follow shot
Follow
(social media) The act of following another user's online activity.
Follow
To go or come after; to move behind in the same path or direction; hence, to go with (a leader, guide, etc.); to accompany; to attend.
It waves me forth again; I'll follow it.
Follow
To endeavor to overtake; to go in pursuit of; to chase; to pursue; to prosecute.
I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them.
Follow
To accept as authority; to adopt the opinions of; to obey; to yield to; to take as a rule of action; as, to follow good advice.
Approve the best, and follow what I approve
Follow peace with all men.
It is most agreeable to some men to follow their reason; and to others to follow their appetites.
Follow
To copy after; to take as an example.
We had rather follow the perfections of them whom we like not, than in defects resemble them whom we love.
Follow
To succeed in order of time, rank, or office.
Follow
To result from, as an effect from a cause, or an inference from a premise.
Follow
To watch, as a receding object; to keep the eyes fixed upon while in motion; to keep the mind upon while in progress, as a speech, musical performance, etc.; also, to keep up with; to understand the meaning, connection, or force of, as of a course of thought or argument.
He followed with his eyes the flitting shade.
Follow
To walk in, as a road or course; to attend upon closely, as a profession or calling.
O, had I but followed the arts!
O Antony! I have followed thee to this.
Follow
To go or come after; - used in the various senses of the transitive verb: To pursue; to attend; to accompany; to be a result; to imitate.
Follow
The art or process of following; specif., in some games, as billiards, a stroke causing a ball to follow another ball after hitting it. Also used adjectively; as, follow shot.
Follow
To travel behind, go after, come after;
The ducklings followed their mother around the pond
Please follow the guide through the museum
Follow
Be later in time;
Tuesday always follows Monday
Follow
Come as a logical consequence; follow logically;
It follows that your assertion is false
The theorem falls out nicely
Follow
Travel along a certain course;
Follow the road
Follow the trail
Follow
Act in accordance with someone's rules, commands, or wishes;
He complied with my instructions
You must comply or else!
Follow these simple rules
Abide by the rules
Follow
Come after in time, as a result;
A terrible tsunami followed the earthquake
Follow
Behave in accordance or in agreement with;
Follow a pattern
Follow my example
Follow
Be next;
Mary plays best, with John and Sue following
Follow
Choose and follow; as of theories, ideas, policies, strategies or plans;
She followed the feminist movement
The candidate espouses Republican ideals
Follow
To bring something about at a later time than;
She followed dinner with a brandy
He followed his lecture with a question and answer period
Follow
Imitate in behavior; take as a model;
Teenagers follow their friends in everything
Follow
Follow, discover, or ascertain the course of development of something;
We must follow closely the economic development is Cuba
Trace the student's progress
Follow
Follow with the eyes or the mind;
Keep an eye on the baby, please!
The world is watching Sarajevo
She followed the men with the binoculars
Follow
Be the successor (of);
Carter followed Ford
Will Charles succeed to the throne?
Follow
Perform an accompaniment to;
The orchestra could barely follow the frequent pitch changes of the soprano
Follow
Keep informed;
He kept up on his country's foreign policies
Follow
To be the product or result;
Melons come from a vine
Understanding comes from experience
Follow
Accept and follow the leadership or command or guidance of;
Let's follow our great helmsman!
She followed a guru for years
Follow
Adhere to or practice;
These people still follow the laws of their ancient religion
Follow
Work in a specific place, with a specific subject, or in a specific function;
He is a herpetologist
She is our resident philosopher
Follow
Keep under surveillance;
The police had been following him for weeks but they could not prove his involvement in the bombing
Follow
Follow in or as if in pursuit;
The police car pursued the suspected attacker
Her bad deed followed her and haunted her dreams all her life
Follow
Grasp the meaning;
Can you follow her argument?
When he lectures, I cannot follow
Follow
Keep to;
Stick to your principles
Stick to the diet
Follow
To come or go after in sequence or direction.
He will follow you wherever you go.
Follow
To pay close attention to; observe.
Please follow the instructions carefully.
Follow
To be a logical consequence of an action or situation.
Success often follows hard work.
Common Curiosities
If I "Follow" a recipe, does that mean I'm moving after it?
No, it means you're adhering to its instructions.
Can "Fallow" refer to unused potential in a person?
Metaphorically, yes. Like untapped talents lying "fallow."
Does "Follow" always imply physical movement?
No, "Follow" can also mean adhering to ideas or instructions.
What's the primary purpose of keeping land "Fallow"?
To allow soil to recover its fertility.
Does "Follow" always imply a subsequent position?
Mostly, but it can also mean to understand or pay attention.
Is it beneficial for all land to go "Fallow" at some point?
Generally, yes, to prevent soil depletion and maintain fertility.
Can "Follow" be used as a noun?
Yes, in contexts like social media, where one has "followers."
Is "Fallow" only used in agriculture?
Primarily, but it can metaphorically mean a period of inactivity.
What's the opposite of "Follow"?
In some contexts, "Lead" can be the opposite.
How often should land be left "Fallow"?
It varies, but farmers decide based on soil health and crop rotation.
Can "Follow" have a passive connotation?
Yes, if someone doesn't think independently and just "follows" others.
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Written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
Edited by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
