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Synonyms

turn against

British  

verb

  1. (preposition) to change or cause to change one's attitude so as to become hostile or to retaliate

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
turn against Idioms  

  1. Become or make antagonistic to, as in Adolescents often turn against their parents, but only temporarily, or She turned him against his colleagues by telling him they were spying on him. [First half of 1800s]

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.

The church has, in other words, reason to worry that the explosion of public criticism, enabled by social media, is causing people to turn against them.

From Salon • Apr. 29, 2026

Women are affected far more often than men, in part because the immune changes that protect pregnancy can later make the immune system more likely to turn against the body.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 23, 2025

A once-strong ruler weakens, her supporters turn against her, and a dramatic change in leadership follows.

From Science Daily • Nov. 22, 2025

There's an old adage in American politics that says people "vote with their pocketbooks" - and turn against politicians if they appear to harm their finances.

From BBC • Sep. 14, 2025

If you’ve ever seen that movie, you know that toward the end the hyenas turn against the villain, Scar, and attack him.

From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings

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.