as in turned back
to drive back
using tree branches, the campers were able to turn away the charging fox, which was apparently rabid
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 turned away
London is so old that wheelchair users are routinely turned away from restaurants, bars, and hotels simply because steps are deemed too beautiful or too invaluable to be replaced or supplemented by ramps.
—
Sophie Morgan, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Jan. 2026
Adi turned away as the needle found its vein, scanning the other man for a reaction but finding none.
—Jonathan Miles, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
After Matheson’s shorthanded bid was turned away, Charlie McAvoy zipped the puck up to Pastrnak on the left side.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 25 Jan. 2026
On Wednesday, Newsom’s team announced that he had been turned away from USA House, the privately run but official gathering spot of the United States.
—Los Angeles Times, 21 Jan. 2026
Maycock was a struggling single mother who was turned away by her family after getting pregnant at 16.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 20 Jan. 2026
In April, Baraka, who had recently entered the Democratic primary for governor, learned at a staff meeting that inspectors were being turned away from Delaney Hall.
—Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2026
Robert Rodriguez played his noir Hypnotic in 2023 on Oscar Sunday night and crowds had to be turned away from Austin’s Paramount Theatre.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 14 Jan. 2026
Lee Perry, a Split Oak advocate who organized Thursday’s town hall, noted an appeals court in November reaffirmed a lower court ruling that turned away Osceola County’s effort to invalidate an Orange County charter amendment adding protections to the forest.
—Stephen Hudak, The Orlando Sentinel, 12 Jan. 2026
Sophie Morgan, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Jan. 2026
Adi turned away as the needle found its vein, scanning the other man for a reaction but finding none.
—Jonathan Miles, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
After Matheson’s shorthanded bid was turned away, Charlie McAvoy zipped the puck up to Pastrnak on the left side.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 25 Jan. 2026
On Wednesday, Newsom’s team announced that he had been turned away from USA House, the privately run but official gathering spot of the United States.
—Los Angeles Times, 21 Jan. 2026
Maycock was a struggling single mother who was turned away by her family after getting pregnant at 16.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 20 Jan. 2026
In April, Baraka, who had recently entered the Democratic primary for governor, learned at a staff meeting that inspectors were being turned away from Delaney Hall.
—Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2026
Robert Rodriguez played his noir Hypnotic in 2023 on Oscar Sunday night and crowds had to be turned away from Austin’s Paramount Theatre.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 14 Jan. 2026
Lee Perry, a Split Oak advocate who organized Thursday’s town hall, noted an appeals court in November reaffirmed a lower court ruling that turned away Osceola County’s effort to invalidate an Orange County charter amendment adding protections to the forest.
—Stephen Hudak, The Orlando Sentinel, 12 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for turned away
Verb
-
In early 2013, having ticked her Antarctica box, Koch turned back to her other great passion and applied for admission to NASA’s 21st astronaut class.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Things got off to an inauspicious start when Air Force One was turned back by mechanical issues.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
For reasons that are quite possibly too unbearable to contemplate, a large group of American voters was not repulsed by such slander—they were actually aroused by it—and our politics have not been the same.—
Jeffrey Goldberg,
The Atlantic,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Nicole is the kind of wife who moves out of her father’s home into her husband’s home, and who has been taught to be repulsed by the mushroom spores covering her body, just like all the women in their community.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
And there were the soldiers of the Army of the Potomac’s II Corps, who successfully repelled Lee’s frontal assault on the Union center.—
Jamelle Bouie,
Mercury News,
29 Jan. 2026
-
The polarising move attracted the right people and repelled the wrong ones without her spending any energy filtering.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
What tends to be lost in the record is how stubbornly Jefferson resisted change.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Throughout his appearances in court and trial hearings, Yoon has repeatedly resisted investigators’ attempts to question him about his wife.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Turned away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/turned%20away. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
