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

Some are even turning away from other top-tier brands due to lack of transparency. — Paige Reddinger, Robb Report, 26 July 2026

In the future, more regulations may be established to turn away ships that are too heavily fouled, Tamburri said. — Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 25 July 2026

Once their ships turned away, the tension dramatically decreased, though hours later China Coast Guard ships could be seen in the distance still shadowing the Philippine vessels. — Ivan Watson, CNN Money, 24 July 2026

The project is aimed at easing a major internal compute shortage that has fueled tensions and reportedly forced Google Cloud to turn away outside business. — Mackenzie Sigalos, CNBC, 20 July 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