turn away

verb

turned away; turning away; turns away

transitive verb

1

a

: to refuse admittance or acceptance to

b

: to send away : reject, dismiss

c

: repel

2

: deflect sense 2, avert

intransitive verb

: to start to go away : depart

Synonyms of turn away

• repel
• turn back
• resist
• repulse
• fend (off)
• beat off
• stave off

Examples of turn away in a Sentence

using tree branches, the campers were able to turn away the charging fox, which was apparently rabid

Recent Examples on the Web

Frankel turned away all 21 shots in goal for the Fleet (10-5-2-4) in her seventh career shutout. —ABC News, 21 Mar. 2026

Hospitals ran out of blood, and started turning away patients. —Cora Engelbrecht, New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2026

Dawn Nettles, who publishes the Lotto Report about lottery happenings and has cried foul over lottery irregularities, said attention should turn away from the gamblers and focus on state officials who presided over this mess. —Dave Lieber, Dallas Morning News, 19 Mar. 2026

In keeping with the turn away from the imperialists, Lamotte’s book examines early European empire building from the perspective of the indigenous and enslaved people who participated in the process—some willingly, many not. —David A. Bell, The New York Review of Books, 19 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2

Rhymes for turn away

• aaa
• adonais
• alleyway
• alumnae
• anime
• anyway
• arete
• attache
• baa
• beaujolais
• bouvier
• breakaway

Kids Definition

turn away

verb

: to refuse to let in : send away

all the seats were sold and a large crowd had to be turned away