as in reversal
a changing from one policy or point of view to virtually its exact opposite
the candidate's frequent about-faces on issues disturbs many voters
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Recent Examples of about-face
Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 26 May 2025
But in 2021, the city did a hard about-face, replacing her and her team with Caggiano and an all-GOP council.
—Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 22 May 2025
Oceanside’s resolution to fly the rainbow flag in June for Pride Month did an about-face Wednesday, when the council member who cast the deciding vote changed his mind.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 May 2025
Crypto Twitter, unsurprisingly, gleefully celebrated his about-face.
—Andrew R. Chow, Time, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for about-face
Noun
Two years later, amid rising crime near campus, the university made an about-face and began rolling out fresh contracts with MPD.
—Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 26 May 2025
But in 2021, the city did a hard about-face, replacing her and her team with Caggiano and an all-GOP council.
—Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 22 May 2025
Oceanside’s resolution to fly the rainbow flag in June for Pride Month did an about-face Wednesday, when the council member who cast the deciding vote changed his mind.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 May 2025
Crypto Twitter, unsurprisingly, gleefully celebrated his about-face.
—Andrew R. Chow, Time, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for about-face
Recent Examples of Synonyms for about-face
Noun
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Finally, Elon Musk’s DOGE activities brought its own host of circuit tests that generated smoke and reversals.—
Bruce Yandle,
Boston Herald,
1 June 2025
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In a reversal from the last two years, the base variant of the latest series, the iPhone 16, leads the chart, followed by the iPhone 16 Pro Max, 16 Pro, and iPhone 15.—
Jibin Joseph,
PC Magazine,
30 May 2025
Verb
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Omen gets a change reverted from a few patches ago which should stop dead allies spectating Omen being able to see through nearsights, while the really annoying issue where Vyse could no longer use Arc Rose for the remainder of the round if it was placed too close to the spike has also been solved.—
Mike Stubbs,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2025
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However, Netflix has rarely allowed users to revert, and doing so usually requires a workaround rather than an official means of doing so.—
Peter Aitken,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 May 2025
Verb
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Finally, with homicides soaring to record levels, exasperated authorities pivoted to a novel strategy: Mexico filed a $10-billion suit in U.S. federal court seeking to have Smith & Wesson and other signature manufacturers held accountable for the country’s epidemic of shooting deaths.—
Patrick J. McDonnell,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2025
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But because the Calabash team can pivot and draw on a deep well of talent and support, the conversation with Marlon James and Paul Holdengraber was a triumph rather than a consolation.—
Baz Dreisinger,
Forbes.com,
4 June 2025
Noun
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Britain is not the only country pressed into making a volte-face.—
London Business School,
Forbes,
24 Feb. 2025
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The realities of Putin’s momentum, coupled with Washington’s volte-face, have led to a clear mood shift in Kyiv.—
Daryna Mayer,
NBC News,
13 Feb. 2025
Verb
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President Donald Trump will announce a new nominee for National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) administrator after rescinding his nomination of Jared Isaacman just days before the Senate was set to vote on him.—
Peter Aitken,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 May 2025
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Both of these actions were rescinded after outcry from advocacy groups.—
Walter Pavlo,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2025
Verb
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Of course, Apple will have thought of this and curved the edges, for instance, to mitigate this.—
David Phelan,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2025
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Halfway into the decade, the company's latest sustainability report released Thursday shows the software giant has a long way to go to meet that goal but may be starting to bend its emissions curve downward.—
Jeff Young,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 May 2025
Verb
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Adeyemi then had a penalty overturned in the 35th minute.—
Manuel Veth,
Forbes.com,
8 June 2025
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But the decision was overturned to a no-contest after Keyshawn tested positive for marijuana.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
8 June 2025
Verb
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The policy changes and enforcement actions were seen by critics as Columbia bowing to the administration’s demands, rather than standing up for the values of free speech and academic freedom.—
Dalia Faheid,
CNN Money,
5 June 2025
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Latest from Michael Hiltzik Voices Hiltzik: Target learns that bowing to anti-DEI backers can be costly, a lesson for those bowing to Trump Voices Hiltzik: AI ‘hallucinations’ are a growing problem for the legal profession Voices Hiltzik: Who’s responsible for the aviation mess?—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“About-face.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/about-face. Accessed 14 Jun. 2025.
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