TURNS DOWN Synonyms: 87 Similar and Opposite Words

turns down

verb

present tense third-person singular of turn down

as in refuses

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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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 down If a local school board turns down a charter, the organizers can appeal to the OC Board, which covers the whole county. —

John Seiler, Oc Register, 13 May 2026 May 14, 2014 Steve Kerr is hired Kerr turns down an offer from the New York Knicks to work with Phil Jackson, his former coach with the Chicago Bulls, to sign a five-year, $25 million contract to coach the Warriors. —

Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 10 May 2026 When Towns turns down 3-point shots, the Hawks win. —

James L. Edwards Iii, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2026 And there’s another anatomical quirk in our eyeballs that turns down our perception of blue specifically in the center of our vision. —

Nora Bradford, Scientific American, 23 Mar. 2026 But everyone seemed to agree that this year’s event was about more than just linking turns down the snowy slopes. —

James Edward Mills, Outside, 15 Mar. 2026 Stung by his firing from The Lovely Bones, Wahlberg turns down The Fighter, thinking the film won’t be a big enough splash to turn his career around. —

Joe Reid, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2026 Sentimental Value stars Stellan Skarsgård as an aging film director whose attempts to reconnect with his estranged daughters Nora (Renate Reinsve) and Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) are made difficult after Nora turns down a part in his next movie. —

Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 5 Jan. 2026 Later, Taylor turns down a job offer that would bring him back to the Dillon Panthers so his wife, Tami (Britton), can pursue her dream job in Philadelphia. —

Randall Colburn, EW.com, 5 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for turns down

Verb

Here, Colman Domingo’s renegade intelligence operative also refuses to tell anyone anything, but all the unspoken beats just feel like plot holes.

— Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2026
And law enforcement refuses to investigate it.

— Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 9 June 2026