turn away
Britishverb
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to move or cause to move in a different direction so as not to face something
one of the child turned away while the others hid
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(tr) to refuse admittance or assistance to
dozens of people were turned away from the hostel
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Send away, dismiss, as in They ran short and had to turn away many customers . [Late 1500s]
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Repel, as in The high prices turned away prospective buyers .
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Avert, deflect, as in She managed to turn away all criticism . [Late 1300s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Wearing a tan jumpsuit, he read a prepared statement in Spanish in which he extraordinarily urged young people to turn away from violence.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
“We’re not in a position to turn away dollars,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2026
As a result, there aren’t enough faculty, forcing schools to turn away thousands of qualified applicants annually.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
Children were dying, and as the father of two young girls, I couldn’t comprehend why he would turn away from science.
From Salon ● Jun. 8, 2026
Something had caused Mom to turn away from Gingerbread Island.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
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.
