well-turned
Americanadjective
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gracefully shaped.
a well-turned ankle.
-
gracefully and concisely expressed.
a well-turned phrase.
adjective
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(of a phrase, speech, etc) apt and pleasingly sonorous
-
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.
As adult as “Good Grief” sometimes feels, it also plays a tad thinly, plotted without too much attention paid to what makes sense, or what might warrant richer exploration beyond a well-turned line.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 5, 2024
"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
It seemed, even, like every blistering high note, well-turned melisma and swooning falsetto note was greeted with hums of approval and the occasional shout of “C’mon!”
From New York Times • Mar. 24, 2023
Too disappointed by her husband’s self-deceptions and their ruinous consequences to miss him, Krystal quickly moves on, finding a new love interest she’s sure she can control with a well-turned eyebrow raise.
From Slate • Aug. 22, 2019
Its flattery had a charm for him no courtier's well-turned compliment could vie with; and I could hear him still continuing to enjoy it as he rode slowly forward and disappeared in the gloom.
From Tom Burke Of "Ours", Volume II by Lever, Charles James
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.
