volte-face

[ volt-fahs, vohlt-; French vawltuh-fas ]

/ vɒltˈfɑs, voʊlt-; French vɔltəˈfas /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR volte-face ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural volte-face.

a turnabout, especially a reversal of opinion or policy.

Words nearby volte-face

voltameter, voltammeter, voltammetry, voltampere, volte, volte-face, volti, voltmeter, volturno, volturnus, voluble

Origin of volte-face

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for volte-face

It leaves out only the actual reason for her abrupt, 11th-hour volte-face.
How Hillary's Feeling About Caroline|Christopher Buckley|January 24, 2009|DAILY BEAST
It was the same as that which he had for Hincks's volte-face. '
The Tribune of Nova Scotia|W. L. (William Lawson) Grant
We have had in France an example of volte-face in taste which I confess has left me gasping.
Some Diversions of a Man of Letters|Edmund William Gosse
These four factors coalesced during 1948 and led to a reassessment of policy and, finally, to a volte-face.
Integration of the Armed Forces, 1940-1965|Morris J. MacGregor, Jr.

What will justify such a volte-face and with what excuse can he repudiate the principles with which he justified his takeover?
The Origins of Contemporary France, Volume 4 (of 6)|Hippolyte A. Taine
But Russia's betrayal is not sufficient to account for the Serbian volte-face.
After the Rain|Sam Vaknin

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

volte-face

noun, plural volte-face.

Words related to volte-face

Words nearby volte-face

Origin of volte-face

Examples from the Web for volte-face

British Dictionary definitions for volte-face

noun plural volte-face

Word Origin for volte-face