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volte-face

[ volt-fahs, vohlt-; French vawltuh-fas ]
/ vɒltˈfɑs, voʊlt-; French vɔltəˈfas /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR volte-face

noun, plural volte-face.

a turnabout, especially a reversal of opinion or policy.

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Origin of volte-face

1810–20; <French <Italian voltafaccia, equivalent to volta turn (see volt2) + facciaface

Words nearby volte-face

voltammetry, volt-ampere, Volta Redonda, Voltaren, volte, volte-face, volti, voltmeter, Volturno, Volturnus, voluble
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to volte-face

annulment, cancellation, switch, turnaround, repeal, turnabout, reversal, flip-flop, denial, repudiation, disclaimer, disavowal, whirl, swivel, rotate, depend, veer, twirl, wiggle, fluctuate

Example sentences from the Web for volte-face

British Dictionary definitions for volte-face

volte-face
/ (ˈvɒltˈfɑːs) /

noun plural volte-face

a reversal, as in opinion or policy
a change of position so as to look, lie, etc, in the opposite direction

Word Origin for volte-face

C19: from French, from Italian volta-faccia, from volta a turn + faccia face
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