turn against
phrasal 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
The book is something of a comfort to Jephson, who had resigned from Diana's office in January 1996, not knowing why the princess had turned against him.
—
Simon Perry, PEOPLE, 25 Nov. 2025
The story picks up with Erivo’s Elphaba having become demonized by Oz after turning against the Wizard (Goldblum) due to his lies and cruelty toward animals.
—Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 24 Nov. 2025
Now the climate of the G-20 is much more divided, with public sentiment turned against Ramaphosa and his government.
—Zanele Mji, Time, 21 Nov. 2025
If some countries are able to use an open global trading system to transfer economic headaches onto their trading partners, the latter will eventually turn against the existing regime.
—Michael Pettis, Foreign Affairs, 17 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for turn against
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Simon Perry, PEOPLE, 25 Nov. 2025
The story picks up with Erivo’s Elphaba having become demonized by Oz after turning against the Wizard (Goldblum) due to his lies and cruelty toward animals.
—Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 24 Nov. 2025
Now the climate of the G-20 is much more divided, with public sentiment turned against Ramaphosa and his government.
—Zanele Mji, Time, 21 Nov. 2025
If some countries are able to use an open global trading system to transfer economic headaches onto their trading partners, the latter will eventually turn against the existing regime.
—Michael Pettis, Foreign Affairs, 17 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for turn against
Cite this Entry
“Turn against.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/turn%20against. Accessed 1 Dec. 2025.
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