turn away

verb

Definition of turn awaynext
as in to repel
to drive back using tree branches, the campers were able to turn away the charging fox, which was apparently rabid

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of turn away Saudi Arabia rejects the suggestion that the agreement represents a turn away from Washington. — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 12 Aug. 2026 This banking-relationship focus gives Soar Payments a practical advantage when placing merchants who have been turned away elsewhere. — Daniel Fusch, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2026 The coroner’s report said that Khalil died in the evening from cardiac arrest due to head trauma and severe bleeding, hours after paramedics initially entered the area and were turned away, said Human Rights Watch’s Lebanon Researcher Ramzi Kaiss. — Kareem Chehayeb, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026 American public opinion is turning away from unconditional support of Israel since Israel’s genocide in Gaza. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 5 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for turn away
Recent Examples of Synonyms for turn away
  1. repel
  2. turn back
  3. resist
  4. repulse
  5. beat off
  6. stave off
Verb
  • Baking soda mixed with powdered sugar can repel ants and cockroaches.
    — Ashley Chalmers, The Spruce, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The narrator, though curious to speak herself, is finally repelled.
    — Maya Binyam, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of repel
Verb
  • Then, the pressure is released so that DME turns back into a gas, leaving the water in the tank.
    — Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 17 Aug. 2026
  • The fire turned back into California late Thursday morning, burning in Lassen County just above the Sierra County line, fire maps showed.
    — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of turn back
Verb
  • Compounding the crisis is the fact that airlines are actively resisting standardization in a bid to outdo each other.
    — Edward Russell, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2026
  • For instance, as a Christian, I am called to vote for doing justice, making peace, loving mercy, being humble, doing good and resisting evil and, most of all, loving my neighbor, whoever that is.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of resist
Verb
  • Most Americans are repulsed by the core ideas of radical leftists.
    — Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Philly may be shedding its second-fiddle status, but it remains entirely repulsed by frauds and underachievers.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 24 July 2026
Definition of repulse
Verb
  • Liverpool are keen for the 21-year-old to gain regular senior experience with Hartberg beating off competition from a number of clubs in Switzerland and France.
    — James Pearce, New York Times, 20 July 2026
  • Happiness beat off competition from second place The Flaws, an absurdist comedy for ZDF that won the official competition at the same fest.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 12 June 2026
Definition of beat off
Verb
  • And Cronenworth, fouling off pitches against lefty Aaron Ashby, did well to stave off a strikeout before hitting a soft bounder to first baseman Jake Bauers.
    — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026
  • In Haiti, Liberia, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and South Sudan, regional bodies helped stave off governmental collapse.
    — Eghosa E. Osaghae, Foreign Affairs, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of stave off

Browse Nearby Words

turnarounds
turn away
turn back
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Turn away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/turn%20away. Accessed 20 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on turn away

Nglish: Translation of turn away for Spanish Speakers

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