as in refusing
to show unwillingness to accept, do, engage in, or agree to
I'm afraid that I will have to turn down your invitation
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Recent Examples of turning down
When asked about the best techniques for defusing tense encounters while still maintaining the right to protect, civil rights advocates in Connecticut are generally recommending online training in turning down the heat on face-to-face encounters with ICE agents or counter-protestors.
—
Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 3 Feb. 2026
Torquing and turning down a mountain at 85 miles per hour without an ACL – its sole anatomical purpose is to connect the femur to the tibia and protect the bones from shifting – is, at best, not recommended and, at worst, slightly reckless.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 3 Feb. 2026
The kind of boss who would crawl inside your abdomen instead of turning down the air-conditioning, Bradley suddenly can’t function without Linda.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 26 Jan. 2026
Deep into stoppage time, fans vented their spleen at the sight of Dominik Szoboszlai turning down the chance to cross into the box, instead opting to pass sideways to Ibrahima Konate.
—James Pearce, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2026
Born in Laurel, Mississippi, on November 29, 1935, Ladd was interested in acting from a young age, even turning down a college scholarship to pursue the craft.
—Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 3 Nov. 2025
Inside the virtual reality world, patients can interact with other people, walk throughout the house party or bar, and even practice turning down an offer of alcohol or drugs.
—Ciara McCarthy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Oct. 2025
Skarsgård has returned to play Pennywise, a villain that King fans agreed the actor embodied to perfection, after initially turning down the chance to continue the character.
—James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2025
But a chat message from Washington to a colleague, released to KUOW and ProPublica last week through a public records request, spells out additional reasons for turning down Daugaard’s proposal.
—Ashley Hiruko, ProPublica, 6 Oct. 2025
Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 3 Feb. 2026
Torquing and turning down a mountain at 85 miles per hour without an ACL – its sole anatomical purpose is to connect the femur to the tibia and protect the bones from shifting – is, at best, not recommended and, at worst, slightly reckless.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 3 Feb. 2026
The kind of boss who would crawl inside your abdomen instead of turning down the air-conditioning, Bradley suddenly can’t function without Linda.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 26 Jan. 2026
Deep into stoppage time, fans vented their spleen at the sight of Dominik Szoboszlai turning down the chance to cross into the box, instead opting to pass sideways to Ibrahima Konate.
—James Pearce, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2026
Born in Laurel, Mississippi, on November 29, 1935, Ladd was interested in acting from a young age, even turning down a college scholarship to pursue the craft.
—Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 3 Nov. 2025
Inside the virtual reality world, patients can interact with other people, walk throughout the house party or bar, and even practice turning down an offer of alcohol or drugs.
—Ciara McCarthy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Oct. 2025
Skarsgård has returned to play Pennywise, a villain that King fans agreed the actor embodied to perfection, after initially turning down the chance to continue the character.
—James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2025
But a chat message from Washington to a colleague, released to KUOW and ProPublica last week through a public records request, spells out additional reasons for turning down Daugaard’s proposal.
—Ashley Hiruko, ProPublica, 6 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for turning down
Verb
-
Germany, which was initially very reluctant to get involved in the conflict, refusing to provide Kyiv with weapons, eventually did so and is now one of the country’s biggest backers.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Moderna announced the change Wednesday, about a week after revealing that the FDA's vaccine chief was refusing to review the new vaccine, made with Nobel Prize-winning mRNA technology.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
In Gingles’ apartment, investigators found a letter from the DMV in Texas, dated less than two weeks before the murders, rejecting an application for a Texas certificate of title for a vehicle.—
Shira Moolten,
Sun Sentinel,
13 Feb. 2026
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Even Republican districts are rejecting the rapid buildout of ICE detention facilities in their communities.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Trump has broken with custom by declining to invite all governors to the traditional White House meeting and dinner.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Today, magnet programs have become a general recruitment strategy in a school system with declining enrollment.—
Howard Blume,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But Schottenheimer’s reason for frequently passing up field goals for touchdowns had some logic behind it.—
Tim Cowlishaw,
Dallas Morning News,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Wembanyama has been passing up many reasonable 3-point looks in the preseason and only taking wide-open ones.—
Jared Weiss,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The zone-heavy Chargers forced Hurts to beat them by throwing over the middle — a region Hurts attacks half as often as his peers — and Hurts was inconsistent.—
Brooks Kubena,
New York Times,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But talking loudly and throwing out numbers that give the impression of action without many of these actions taking place are not what a respectable leader does.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Feb. 2026
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Conservative appeals courts have signaled skepticism of some trial judges’ rulings, with appellate courts throwing out injunctions as overly broad and vague, suggesting judicial restraint regarding the scope of limitations on executive immigration authority.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Turning down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/turning%20down. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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