turn (on) 1 of 3

verb (1)

Definition of turn (on)next
as in to attack
to take sudden, violent action against it is dangerous to keep tigers as house pets, as they often turn on their masters without warning

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

turn-on

2 of 3

noun

as in lure
something that persuades one to perform an action for pleasure or gain knew the offer of free pizza would be a major turn-on to the pair of teenagers she had just asked to help her move

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

turn on

3 of 3

verb (2)

1
as in to thrill
to cause a pleasurable stimulation of the feelings unsurprisingly, the fanboys were turned on by the movie's amazing special effects and slam-bang plot

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to trigger
to cause to function would you turn on the TV?

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for turn (on)
  1. attack
  2. lure
  3. thrill
  4. trigger
  5. assault
  6. temptation
  7. excite
  8. activate
Verb
  • An official of Congo's ruling party UDPS, Marie-Célestin Karondwa, was attacked by unknown suspects Sunday for defending the government's measures against Ebola on a radio program and was in critical condition, according to the UDPS.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Additionally, the agents were apparently not instructed to attack or compromise the UN website.
    — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of attack
Noun
  • Everybody knows already, one hopes, not to trust the lure of quick cash, especially as it is depicted on TV.
    — Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2026
  • The entire roll call of avant-garde movements—from Futurism, Dadaism, and Surrealism in the first part of the twentieth century to Situationism, Happenings, and Fluxus in the second—submitted to the lure of aleatory forces.
    — Artforum, Artforum, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of lure
Verb
  • Those who enjoy focusing on wellness on vacation will be thrilled to learn about the property's brand-new padel court, complimentary bicycle rentals, and small gym, which is tucked into a cottage at the end of the pool deck.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Sep. 2026
  • This year, Prada sent a brilliant bouquet of skirts in thrilling colors down the runway.
    — Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of thrill
Verb
  • Georgia Tech engineers have developed a wireless networking system that lets tiny implants communicate through body tissue, potentially allowing sensors in one part of the body to trigger treatment somewhere else.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Rather than simply flagging when a live stream has broken, Pixentinel aims to determine where a failure originated supplu evidence to the diagnosis and, where possible, automatically trigger a response.
    — Callum McLennan, Variety, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of trigger
Verb
  • The woman, who was the only person found in the vehicle, had been assaulted by the shooting suspect, sheriff’s officials said, and the two men left the vehicle.
    — Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 1 Oct. 2026
  • No one in Cathy’s family seems to know she was assaulted, but for us, that information contextualizes her now-twisted understanding of her own looks and sexuality.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of assault
Noun
  • Not to mention the agonizing months of watching the new hair grow in, every day fighting the temptation to go back to blonde or brunette.
    — Maggie Ryan, Flow Space, 25 Sep. 2026
  • There is still one temptation Remm is still trying to resist.
    — Clara Molot, Vanity Fair, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of temptation
Verb
  • The space invited us into the world of Gucci, excited us with product on the rails, and reminded everyone of the magic a store can bring to the shopping experience.
    — Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 28 Sep. 2026
  • The two are excited by the location and by the prospect of being in the heart of a bustling district.
    — Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of excite
Verb
  • More than 120 National Guard members were activated, part of roughly 400 statewide after the governor issued an emergency proclamation.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Business continuity treats disruption as the baseline condition and designs operations accordingly, with integrated data, predictive intelligence and prebuilt response playbooks that activate before a situation has fully materialized.
    — Abha Dogra, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of activate
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.

Browse Nearby Words

turnoffs
turn (on)
turn-on
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Turn (on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/turn%20%28on%29. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of heterodox

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 2

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All