turn against

verb

turned against; turning against; turns against
1
: to stop supporting or being friendly to (someone or something)
The senator eventually turned against the war.
She turned against her best friend.
2
: to cause (someone) to stop being friendly toward (someone)
He tried to turn our friends against us.
3
: to use (something) in a way that harms or discredits (someone)
Her political opponent tried to turn her many years of experience in Washington against her.

Examples of turn against in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
In his last start, a four-inning turn against the Brewers, Gausman allowed seven runs (six earned) on eight hits. — Johnny Flores Jr, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026 Instead, the filmmaker begins with a farmer at the first spark in Essex, then follows him as the uprising gathers people, reaches London, and begins to turn against itself. — Jp Mangalindan, Time, 11 Sep. 2026 Across Greengrass’ three Bourne movies, the elite assassin turns against the clandestine institution that created him, determined to escape its grip and bring its covert operations to light. — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 10 Sep. 2026 The result is a twisted, naturalistic fairytale about structural realities; with the right boot-heel at one’s neck, even ostensibly life-giving forces like forests and rivers can be turned against innocent people. — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for turn against

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Turn against.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/turn%20against. Accessed 28 Sep. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster