TURNS Synonyms: 343 Similar and Opposite Words

turns 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of turn

as in rotates

to move (something) in a curved or circular path on or as if on an axis turned the doorknob as quietly as possible

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Relevance

as in swings

to change the course or direction of (something) the dog turned the stampeding flock of sheep around he turned his cart uphill

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as in deviates

to change one's course or direction we turned left at the light the storm unexpectedly turned south and missed our area

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as in becomes

to eventually have as a state or quality will turn 12 in six months

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as in revolves

to move in circles around an axis or center the wheels turned, but the car was hopelessly stuck and wasn't moving

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as in ponders

to give serious and careful thought to turned the question every which way but could find no answer

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as in depends

to be determined by, based on, or subject (to) what we do next turns on your answer to the following question

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as in spins

to be in a confused state as if from being twirled around all the new information made his head turn

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as in convinces

to cause to have often negative opinions formed without sufficient knowledge he did his best to turn his new friends against his ex-wife

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turns

2 of 2

noun

plural of turn

as in walks

a relaxed journey on foot for exercise or pleasure would you care to take a turn around the garden?

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as in services

an act of kind assistance one good turn deserves another

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as in tendencies

a habitual attraction to some activity or thing an adventurous turn of mind that led him toward more physical activities like biking and skateboarding

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as in bends

something that curves or is curved right after this turn in the road you'll find the antiques shop on the right

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as in bouts

a sudden experiencing of a physical or mental disorder a sudden turn of dizziness that may have been brought on by a change in her medication

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as in acts

a performance regularly presented by an individual or group between the show's two major musical acts, there was a short turn by a juggling troupe

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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 turns

Verb

That in turn feeds ‘The Ticker’, the basic on-screen representation of the score and ‘The Computer’, another programme that turns that raw information into the more intricate graphics that appear on the screen. — Nick Miller, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026 Teaching students to actively hunt for where logic breaks turns them from passive consumers into sharp, critical evaluators of AI systems. — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2026 In late August, the hotel turns into a red-carpet event for celebrities, stars of the silver screen, and various hangers-on at the Venice Film Festival to which the Excelsior is inexorably linked, now enjoying its 10th decade. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Sep. 2026 Taylor, who turns 32 next month, has a club option for next season; Ruiz, 27, is out of contract at the end of the season but has options for the next two years; and Calegari, 24, is signed through June 2029. — Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026 American sophistication has its sprezzatura—Astaire made an art of it—but characteristically turns effortlessness outward, into charm, something ingratiating and democratic-seeming. — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026 Once an account is established, parents, guardians, grandparents and others can also contribute up to $5,000 per year until the year before the beneficiary turns 18. — Jessica Dickler, CNBC, 31 Aug. 2026 For months, online ads have been peppering audiences with glimpses of Buddy, a ’90s children’s TV unicorn who turns creepy and murderous in what IndieWire called way back at Sundance the first great Midnight Movie of 2026. — Brian Welk, IndieWire, 31 Aug. 2026 Ask who owns what, adjust the timeline, and make one practical fix before momentum turns messy. — Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 26 Aug. 2026

Noun

From there, the movie takes a series of increasingly surreal turns, including elaborate reenactments involving a Hollywood actress (her arrival is too good to spoil) that further scramble the line between reality and performance. — Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2026 When a franchise goes through coaching turns, multi-year playoff droughts, and bottom-of-the-barrel divisional finishes, finding basic baseline competency becomes the top priority. — David Troy Outkick, FOXNews.com, 7 Sep. 2026 Compared to a typical 200,000-square foot warehouse or distribution center with 80 dock doors and two turns per day, a data center, once built, has a fraction of the truck traffic. — Kevin Williams, CNBC, 5 Sep. 2026 In subsequent turns, the model's attention mechanism reads its own recent failure as a dominant template. — New Atlas, 4 Sep. 2026 Sharp right turns have occurred before Both of the two hurricanes to make a direct landfall on the major islands of Hawaii in the modern record also took sharp right turns. — Doyle Rice, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026 But his memory, of a long career as a reporter around the globe, with turns as an essayist, a historian, a novelist, and a political activist, remains almost eerily lucid. — Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2026 Three Fall Must-Dos Cruise one of the most underrated fall drives in the US—the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway, encompassing winding Needles Highway in Custer State Park and Iron Mountain Road, famous for its 300-plus hairpin turns. — Taryn Shorr-McKee, Midwest Living, 26 Aug. 2026 Out in Montauk, some 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of Manhattan, Suse Lowenstein has tried to stay out of the twists and turns of the criminal case. — ABC News, 25 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for turns

Verb

Investor attention is currently shifting toward a growing divergence within technology equities, as market capital rotates away from mega-cap tech giants and into the AI infrastructure supply chain.

— , CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
Traveling at roughly one mile per second, the LRO orbits from pole to pole every two hours as the moon rotates on its own course about 60 miles below the spacecraft.

— Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of rotates

Verb

Price upon request Louis Vuitton Pharrell’s autumn outing features several eye-catching knits, including this volcanic take on a Nordic yoke sweater, which deviates from more-traditional styles with an irregular, almost pixilated gradient pattern.

— Jon Roth, Robb Report, 5 Sep. 2026
Walsh’s spaceship deviates from many of the vessels seen in Star Wars, as those ships are often dirty and grubby to emphasize their use and wear.

— Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of deviates

Verb

The question then becomes whether there is a problem with the emerging technology, or, if this starts with the culture of policing itself.

— Irene Wright, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2026
The forecast then becomes uncertain, as one model suggests a stronger system could bring cooler weather and rain, while another keeps the heat in place.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of becomes

Verb

While Tavares coach Gavin Jones ponders how to replace 18 transfer players heading into the season, just down Route 441, new Eustis coach Tanner Harris is pumping some energy into a program that has had four coaches in three years.

— Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Aug. 2026
Vieira ponders the dilemma from his own perspective as a coach, having had spells in charge at New York City, Nice, Crystal Palace, Strasbourg and Genoa.

— Oliver Kay, New York Times, 15 June 2026

Definition of ponders

Verb

The South Shore & South Bend also depends on being able to switch freight freely among all railroads operating on the Chicago network, Gilbertson said, and this could be adversely affected if the industry gets more concentrated.

— John Lippert, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026
There isn’t one hiring season The timing also depends heavily on the kind of job someone is looking for.

— Tatiana Sataua, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of depends

Verb

Fission – or the splitting of atoms (usually uranium) – produces energy that heats a liquid (usually water) into steam, which then spins a turbine, generating electricity.

— Donald Keough, Christian Science Monitor, 2 Sep. 2026
The camera spins on its own ketamine high as Peter (Firstman), party promoter extraordinaire and generous drug dealer, kicks off another evening.

— Joshua Rothkopf, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026