as in turns away
to drive back
a cavalry charge that was turned back by withering fire
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Recent Examples of turns back
Doing so will ensure your paperwork is processed and ready to go when the spigot turns back on.
—
Cathie Anderson, Sacbee.com, 30 Oct. 2025
And Keenan Allen turns back the clock.
—Joe Nguyen, Denver Post, 21 Sep. 2025
Law plays Jake Friedken, a hotshot restaurant owner whose life is thrown into chaos when his black sheep older brother, Vince (Jason Bateman), turns back up after years on the run.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 19 Sep. 2025
The third and final part focuses on the President (Idris Elba), who as the clock turns back again is making an appearance at a basketball game.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2025
Cathie Anderson, Sacbee.com, 30 Oct. 2025
And Keenan Allen turns back the clock.
—Joe Nguyen, Denver Post, 21 Sep. 2025
Law plays Jake Friedken, a hotshot restaurant owner whose life is thrown into chaos when his black sheep older brother, Vince (Jason Bateman), turns back up after years on the run.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 19 Sep. 2025
The third and final part focuses on the President (Idris Elba), who as the clock turns back again is making an appearance at a basketball game.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for turns back
Verb
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My body turns away before my mind can catch up.—
Valeng Cha,
Twin Cities,
8 Feb. 2026
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Amazon will also close 15 of its Amazon Go locations as the company turns away from brick-and-mortar grocery stores to concentrate on online same-day delivery and its Whole Foods Market brand.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacbee.com,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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This 2x4-foot area rug literally repels water, making liquid less likely to seep deeper into the material.—
Stephanie Osmanski,
Better Homes & Gardens,
10 Feb. 2026
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To address the issue, researchers at Florida Atlantic University have developed a device that repels sharks but not tuna and swordfish.—
Bill Kearney,
Sun Sentinel,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Toruño resists the label of activist but embraces the political nature of her work.—
Yamlek Mojica,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Feb. 2026
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This would not be possible in two or three dimensions, but the words are arranged in tens of thousands of them, a geometry that doggedly resists visualization.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Turns back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/turns%20back. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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