turning away

verb

present participle of turn away
as in turning back
to drive back using tree branches, the campers were able to turn away the charging fox, which was apparently rabid

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 turning away Slightly turning away from the camera, Schiffer revealed that the back of her bikini top was held together with the netting. — Lara Walsh, InStyle, 25 Aug. 2026 But with burnout on the rise in health care, many clinicians are turning away students. — Colleen Connolly, STAT, 24 Aug. 2026 Programs like the Pentagon’s Replicator initiative, which funded over 100 companies, two-thirds of them small businesses, while turning away over 300, illustrate that fierce, Darwinian competition is both inevitable and healthy in this sector. — Doug Beck, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026 The construction activity prompted protests in and around the national park, and local businesses have been turning away federal contractors who are working on the project. — Ashley Killough, CNN Money, 17 Aug. 2026 American public opinion is turning away from unconditional support of Israel since Israel’s genocide in Gaza. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 5 Aug. 2026 At present, prison abolitionists have demanded new conditions for addressing racial capital, turning away from the brutal system of punitive measures to a framework of racial repair. — Literary Hub, 27 July 2026 Some are even turning away from other top-tier brands due to lack of transparency. — Paige Reddinger, Robb Report, 26 July 2026 Many political scientists attribute the narrowing of the gender gap in religiosity to more young women turning away from religion rather than more young men turning toward it. — Chantelle Lee, Time, 9 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for turning away
  1. turning back
  2. repulsing
  3. repelling
  4. resisting
  5. beating off
Verb
  • Cubans are planning their lives around the lights turning back on.
    — Andrea Rodriguez, Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2026
  • At times, they were seen swerving around other drivers and driving at speeds up to 95 miles per hour in the northbound lanes before getting onto the westbound I-10, exiting near downtown and then turning back toward Boyle Heights on surface streets.
    — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of turning back
Verb
  • While there are dismemberments and other bits of gruesome violence to be found in the film, Badlands is largely aimed at endearing its audience rather than repulsing them.
    — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 4 Nov. 2025
Definition of repulsing
Verb
  • This is more than a sophisticated arms race aimed at repelling threats and protecting borders.
    — Kamal Ahmed, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The Build Forward Ukraine team was also aware of Irpin and the special role the city had played in the dark early days, repelling the Russian ground offensive aimed at taking Kyiv, 14 miles south.
    — Howard LaFranchi, Christian Science Monitor, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of repelling
Verb
  • During the arrest, Guerrero-Chavez began resisting, even slipping out of her handcuffs and attempting to run back to her vehicle, Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said.
    — Jenna Ebbers, Kansas City Star, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Wiener has long championed making housing easier to build, but in San Francisco resisting development is a bedrock cause for those on the city’s left.
    — Dan Walters, Mercury News, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of resisting
Verb
  • Liverpool are keen for the 21-year-old to gain regular senior experience with Hartberg beating off competition from a number of clubs in Switzerland and France.
    — James Pearce, New York Times, 20 July 2026
  • The dogs had driven the woman into the surf before a tourist came to her rescue, beating off the dingoes.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 28 Jan. 2026
Definition of beating off

Browse Nearby Words

turning around
turning away
turning back
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Turning away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/turning%20away. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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