turn back

verb

Definition of turn backnext
as in to repel
to drive back a cavalry charge that was turned back by withering fire

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of turn back That's when Daylight Saving Time ends, and clocks are turned back one hour. — Tammie Souza, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026 At a polling station in Rio de Janeiro, the voting machines had already been switched off minutes after polls were set to close and couldn't be turned back on. — Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026 At a polling station in Rio de Janeiro, the voting machines had already been switched off minutes after polls were set to close and couldn’t be turned back on. — Eléonore Hughes, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2026 The clocks haven’t turned back yet, but the mood shift is already underway. — Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for turn back
Recent Examples of Synonyms for turn back
  1. repel
  2. resist
  3. turn away
  4. repulse
  5. stave off
  6. beat off
Verb
  • Justus Annunen repelled 27 pucks, and Nashville won its sixth game in a row after dispatching the Kings 24 hours earlier.
    — Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 12 Nov. 2026
  • This uses multiple ultrasonic frequencies to repel as wide a range of pests as possible, including spiders, mice and most insects.
    — BestReviews, Chicago Tribune, 11 Nov. 2026
Definition of repel
Verb
  • Retail is a recent addition for a designer who long resisted it.
    — Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 6 Nov. 2026
  • In July 2025, Bennett and another man were charged with resisting arrest after a confrontation with LAPD officers at a candlelight vigil a few blocks from where Foreman was killed this year.
    — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of resist
Verb
  • Republicans, however, could take advantage of Newsom’s action and cast him as a soft-on-crime liberal who is out of touch with most Americans, which risks turning away moderate voters.
    — Taryn Luna, Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2026
  • He was cleared to land on a runway there, but the plane turned away from the runway while just north of the airport and continued to drop in the air while flying south past the airport, the NTSB report said.
    — Angie DiMichele, Sun Sentinel, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of turn away
Verb
  • Her widowed aunt plays chaperone as Susanna attends heady lectures and repulses her many suitors.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Young people just aren’t interested, partly because they’re repulsed by bodily fluids.
    — Marta Balaga, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of repulse
Verb
  • The good news is that the study also found that movement — in the right amounts and at the right times — staves off muscle laziness and might make sitting a little less unhealthy.
    — Gretchen Reynolds, Washington Post, 28 Oct. 2026
  • The campaign stops in Corpus Christi and Lubbock came as Republicans fight to stave off their first statewide loss in Texas in more than 30 years.
    — Caroline Linton, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of stave off
Verb
  • Spurs beat off competition from Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain to sign Fernandes, while Manchester City were interested in Tonali.
    — Jay Harris, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Happiness beat off competition from second place The Flaws, an absurdist comedy for ZDF that won the official competition at the same fest.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 12 June 2026
Definition of beat off

Browse Nearby Words

turn away
turn back
turncoat
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Turn back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/turn%20back. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

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