well-turned
Americanadjective
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gracefully shaped.
a well-turned ankle.
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gracefully and concisely expressed.
a well-turned phrase.
adjective
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(of a phrase, speech, etc) apt and pleasingly sonorous
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having a pleasing shape
a well-turned leg
Etymology
Origin of well-turned
First recorded in 1610–20
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.
The story of Elizabeth’s wealth has the fine-grain detail of a Richard Powers novel, and Jack’s background in Kansas is a well-turned tale of pathos, familial cruelty and the brutal heartland landscape.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 15, 2023
"For his part, Depp delivers his lines in well-turned French, wearing fine powder and a stiff white wig, and yet he seems strangely uncomfortable in the role - adequate but not especially engaged," he added.
From BBC • May 17, 2023
There’s something heartening about audiences in shorts and T-shirts leaping to their feet in a concert hall to cheer well-turned showpieces by Ravel, Barber and Jacques Ibert.
From New York Times • Aug. 8, 2022
I share her discomfort, although I’ve only encountered CrimeCon secondhand, through Monroe’s lively and well-turned reporting.
From Slate • Aug. 26, 2019
He makes no well-turned speeches about the bay being even more enchanting under such circumstances, or any orthodox compliment that might have pleased a woman versed in the world's ways.
From Mrs. Geoffrey by Duchess
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.
