as in reversal
a changing from one policy or point of view to virtually its exact opposite
more than one London newspaper accused the prime minister of doing an about-turn on the issue
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Recent Examples of about-turn
First, a dramatic about-turn by the United States.
—
Vasco Cotovio, CNN Money, 11 Dec. 2025
The revelations represent a stunning about-turn in a case for which Azevedo had yet to appear in court to face felony charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and lying to a government agency, which could carry up to 20 years on the most serious count.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 6 Nov. 2025
Talk of retribution is precisely the opposite of what markets had hoped for, and is a further about-turn from the White House on relations with Beijing.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 15 Oct. 2025
Also on March 10, a federal judge ruled that the department is required to make its records public, an about-turn for the agency that has been mired in secrecy, according to Forbes.
—Sam Gillette, People.com, 12 Mar. 2025
The announcement is a dramatic about-turn for a Republican president.
—Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 13 Feb. 2025
Trent makes an about-turn and decides to follow the light.
—Vulture, 22 Mar. 2023
Under Leahy’s watch, Glossier launched at Sephora in February 2023, marking an about-turn from its prior DTC strategy and adopting a more traditional retail playbook.
—Kathryn Hopkins, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Vasco Cotovio, CNN Money, 11 Dec. 2025
The revelations represent a stunning about-turn in a case for which Azevedo had yet to appear in court to face felony charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and lying to a government agency, which could carry up to 20 years on the most serious count.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 6 Nov. 2025
Talk of retribution is precisely the opposite of what markets had hoped for, and is a further about-turn from the White House on relations with Beijing.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 15 Oct. 2025
Also on March 10, a federal judge ruled that the department is required to make its records public, an about-turn for the agency that has been mired in secrecy, according to Forbes.
—Sam Gillette, People.com, 12 Mar. 2025
The announcement is a dramatic about-turn for a Republican president.
—Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 13 Feb. 2025
Trent makes an about-turn and decides to follow the light.
—Vulture, 22 Mar. 2023
Under Leahy’s watch, Glossier launched at Sephora in February 2023, marking an about-turn from its prior DTC strategy and adopting a more traditional retail playbook.
—Kathryn Hopkins, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for about-turn
Noun
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To the contrary, though the film is frequently funny, Brewer takes their ambitions and reversals seriously.—
Peter Tonguette,
The Washington Examiner,
9 Jan. 2026
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State officials said Thursday that the FBI would be solely in charge of Wednesday's deadly encounter, in a reversal from earlier beliefs that the probe would be a dual federal-state effort.—
Maggie Vespa,
NBC news,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The Kremlin has denied any such request was made, which tells you something about how Moscow views the optics of this diplomatic volte-face.—
Bobby Ghosh,
Time,
22 Dec. 2025
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Adding to his administration’s volte-face, Biden was on the verge of a big bang in the U.S.-Saudi relationship when Hamas derailed the effort with its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.—
Dana L. Stroul,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“About-turn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/about-turn. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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