turn one's back on

1. Deny, reject; also abandon, forsake. For example, I can't turn my back on my own daughter, no matter what she's done, or He simply turned his back on them and never gave it a second thought. [c. 1400] Also see when one's back is turned.

Example Sentences

"This is not a moment to turn one's back on difficulties, but to confront difficulties, so I am not quitting," Costa told parliament.

From Reuters

To preach sober sex for all, all the time, would be to deliberately turn one’s back on the reality that people like to get messed up and screw.

From Slate

Francois Delattre said that 25 years after the Oslo Accords started the peace process, “there might be a temptation to turn one’s back on the agreed framework.”

From Seattle Times

Some moments of the film posed a challenge; Moana raging at the ocean, for example, contravened a Maori cultural rule to never curse or turn one’s back on the sea, so they turned it into a more humorous moment using careful wordplay.

From New York Times

For any person of science or faith, it should be impossible to turn one’s back on a tormented soul.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• decline 
• ignore 
• protest 
• rebuff 
• reject 
• turn down 
• withdraw 
• withhold