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.
He walks backward toward the folding chairs as he speaks before turning away.
From Literature
I pretend not to notice and turn away from him.
From Literature
Cardinal Pizzaballa's office said it was "the first time in centuries" a Latin Patriarch had been turned away from the holy site on Palm Sunday, which marks Christ's fabled return to Jerusalem.
From BBC
Attendees had to be turned away from one breakfast meeting with top military brass because of legal limits enforced by a fire marshal.
From Barron's
In 1939, more than 900 Jewish refugees who were fleeing Nazi Germany aboard the MS St. Louis were turned away by Cuba and the United States.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
