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 infrastructure of economic interdependence was turned against both the United States’ enemies and its friends.
—
Henry Farrell, Foreign Affairs, 19 Aug. 2025
The photo went viral at a moment when concerns over food scarcity in Gaza were growing again, and the narrative quickly turned against Israel.
—Seth Mandel, The Washington Examiner, 8 Aug. 2025
And what ends up happening is the public begins to turn against them.
—Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Aug. 2025
The 27-member bloc has to hammer out key aspects of its framework, and the fragile trade truce between two of the world’s largest economies could quickly break apart if sentiment turns against the arrangement.
—David Goldman, CNN Money, 29 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for turn against
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Henry Farrell, Foreign Affairs, 19 Aug. 2025
The photo went viral at a moment when concerns over food scarcity in Gaza were growing again, and the narrative quickly turned against Israel.
—Seth Mandel, The Washington Examiner, 8 Aug. 2025
And what ends up happening is the public begins to turn against them.
—Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Aug. 2025
The 27-member bloc has to hammer out key aspects of its framework, and the fragile trade truce between two of the world’s largest economies could quickly break apart if sentiment turns against the arrangement.
—David Goldman, CNN Money, 29 July 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 30 Aug. 2025.
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