by turns
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He is accompanied on his reluctant journey to the finish line with a group of characters who by turns torment and placate him.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
“Billy Preston: That’s the Way God Planned It” is, by turns, heartbreaking and inspirational.
From Salon ● Feb. 20, 2026
All weekend long, the headlines out of Minneapolis have captured a moment that is by turns alarming and bizarre.
From Slate ● Jan. 20, 2026
Where “Warhead” does look ahead, it is by turns thought-provoking and terrifying.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 10, 2025
Even now they were snarling and whimpering by turns, pulling at their leashes while Chett cursed them for curs.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
