volte-face

American  

[volt-fahs, vohlt-, vawlt^uh-fas] / vɒltˈfɑs, voʊlt-, vɔltəˈfas /

noun

plural

volte-face

1. a turnabout, especially a reversal of opinion or policy.

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volte-face British  

/ ˈvɒltˈfɑːs /

noun

1. a reversal, as in opinion or policy

2. a change of position so as to look, lie, etc, in the opposite direction

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Etymology

Origin of volte-face

First recorded in 1810–20; from French, from Italian voltafaccia, equivalent to volta turn ( volt ² ) + faccia face

Example Sentences

What can I say about this complete volte-face?

From Los Angeles Times

Secondly, the executor of your father’s estate was either asleep on the job and/or had an inexplicable volte-face.

From MarketWatch

But in what appears to be a volte-face, Burke’s “Ignorance: A Global History” explores the myriad ways in which “not-knowing” affects our lives, sometimes for good, sometimes for ill.

From Washington Post

The volte-face leaves our protagonist with a very different legacy.

From New York Times

Although the judge said it was difficult to prove how much “moral damage” Santander’s volte-face caused Orcel, he said the bank’s withdrawal created “considerable frustration, uneasiness, uncertainty and a certain discredit in the banking world.”

From Reuters