slow fade
cowardly but common
the one-line answer
Gradually reducing contact until communication naturally ends.
Slow fade is a more gradual ghosting. Instead of disappearing suddenly, you decrease contact over weeks until the conversations simply stop. It feels kinder but the result is the same.
mainstream
Your coworker might use this word.
01 / in the wild
hear it move.
description
he didn't ghost her, he slow-faded. less texts each week until nothing.
He gradually reduced communication until it ended without a direct conversation.