Turn the other cheek

1. An adaptation of a command of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount: “Ye have heard that it hath been said, “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth”; but I say unto you, that ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.”

To “turn the other cheek” is thus to accept injuries and not to seek revenge.

Idioms and Phrases

Respond meekly or mildly to insult or injury without retaliating. For example, There's no point in arguing with that unreasonable supervisor; just turn the other cheek. This expression comes from the New Testament, in which Jesus tells his followers to love their enemies and offer their other cheek to those who have struck one cheek (Luke 6:29).

Example Sentences

Essay Topic: Which saying do you find the most offensive and probably created by the radical left — turn the other cheek, or treat others as you would have them treat you?

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Others emphasized the “compassionate Christ” who urged that we “turn the other cheek,” who mingled among lepers and saw the poor and sick as being God’s children: that “those who are ‘first’ in this world — prominent and powerful — may find themselves last in God’s kingdom.”

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Trump seizes every opportunity to play the crucified Christ but one that will never turn the other cheek.

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And Food Forward was my way to turn the other cheek.”

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The British foreign secretary, David Cameron, acknowledged just before meeting with the prime minister that Israel was unlikely to heed pleas to turn the other cheek.

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