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

Frequent re-entries can raise questions at the border or even lead to being turned away. — Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 3 Nov. 2026

But when those academics offered to fly to Albania to see all the documentation, they were turned away. — Megan Molteni, STAT, 2 Nov. 2026

Examples include long lines, a wrong or closed polling location, trouble checking in or with ID, voting machine problems, or anyone being turned away or pressured. — Staff, AJC.com, 2 Nov. 2026

The briefing over, Andrew, about to turn away, paused for a second, perhaps to answer a question, maybe to shake the hand of the Afghan police chief standing next to him, maybe someone called out to him. — Ron Farina, Hartford Courant, 1 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

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

Rhymes for turn away

• aaa
• alleyway
• alumnae
• anime
• anyway
• arete
• attache
• axillae
• 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