turned back

verb

past tense of turn back
as in repulsed
to drive back a cavalry charge that was turned back by withering fire

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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 turned back Eventually, Guccione turned back on his stadium microphone and announced the run would count, leading to further boos. — Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 11 Aug. 2026 The proposal, which called for overhauling the judicial selection process and directly electing Supreme Court justices, was decisively turned back on Tuesday. — Ben Wheeler, Kansas City Star, 5 Aug. 2026 In May, the Court of International Trade turned back another set. — Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2026 Paige turned back around to find Nikki Bella hitting her with a clothesline. — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 2 Aug. 2026 Both Ceuta and Melilla are heavily fortified, and many migrants who arrive in the enclaves are immediately turned back. — Kerry Breen, CBS News, 31 July 2026 Sandy Creek has sat idle since a major failure last year and isn’t expected to be turned back on until March 2027. — Ella Nilsen, CNN Money, 13 July 2026 After his father was repeatedly brought to an operating room at a hospital in Kandahar and turned back without surgery, Amiri posted a video describing the ordeal. — Fatima Faizi, NPR, 10 July 2026 Shopify shoppers turned back the clock to invest in simpler things including better sleep, dumb phones, and fixing old devices instead of just buying new ones, according to June sales data shared first with Retail Brew. — Vidhi Choudhary, Fortune, 7 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for turned back
  1. repulsed
  2. turned away
  3. repelled
  4. resisted
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 repulsed
Verb
  • New Zealanders must now be registered and have their addresses and other details updated in the system 13 days before election day, or they will be turned away from polling places.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 10 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
Definition of turned away
Verb
  • The buildings —critical to the AI boom driving intense investment — have repelled voters due to their massive energy and water demand.
    — Garrett Downs, CNBC, 6 Aug. 2026
  • In this family, Shigejiro seemed to be cloaked in a waterproof tarpaulin that repelled the currents of misfortune.
    — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of repelled
Verb
  • Burbank locals have resisted growth in the past, said real estate consultant Chris Baer of Avison Young.
    — Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Maybe not While the AMA acknowledges that stigma affects clinician behavior and prescribing, the organization has long urged patience with the pace of reform and resisted efforts to mandate more rapid change.
    — Brian Mann, NPR, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of resisted

Browse Nearby Words

turned away
turned back
turned color
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Cite this Entry

“Turned back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/turned%20back. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

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