turn away
Britishverb
-
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
-
(tr) to refuse admittance or assistance to
dozens of people were turned away from the hostel
-
Send away, dismiss, as in They ran short and had to turn away many customers . [Late 1500s]
-
Repel, as in The high prices turned away prospective buyers .
-
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.
I didn’t lose my sweet tooth, nor did I turn away from carbonation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
“We turn away from such evil at our own peril,” Kennedy maintained.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
Fauci, 85, and his lawyers presumably knew they had no choice but to turn away all questions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
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
“What’s he doing here?” a particularly wizened sheyd sitting nearby shouted, as only just now did he even think to turn away from the scene unfolding on the stage.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
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.
