depart out of this world—(euph.) die; pass away:
- But one thing, at times, assuages my grief, which is this: I am sure that he departed out of this world in peace.
go out of this world—
1. (also: go from this world) = depart out of this world:
- This put people to their graves a lot quicker than they should have gone out of this world.
2. have one’s mind far away from reality:
- He hadn’t talked to anybody since then and it seemed he had gone out of this world.
Note: Neither expression correlates in meaning with the phrase retire from the world—
1. live alone from principle, seeing no one:
- After a busy life teaching, he retired from the world and considered his own inner development.
2. enter a monastery or become a hermit:
- To think that Catharine Glover nourished the private wish to retire from the world!