turn away

verb

turned away; turning away; turns away

transitive verb

1

a

: to refuse admittance or acceptance to

b

: to send away : reject, dismiss

c

: repel

2

: deflect, avert

intransitive verb

: to start to go away : depart

Synonyms

• beat off
• fend (off)
• rebut
• repel
• repulse
• stave off
• turn back

Examples of turn away in a Sentence

using tree branches, the campers were able to turn away the charging fox, which was apparently rabid

Recent Examples on the Web

But Trump cannot turn away from China entirely, Wang said. —Jennifer Jett, NBC News, 7 Nov. 2024

That’s when elections staff close the line, but those who are already queued won’t be turned away. —Grant Stringer, The Mercury News, 5 Nov. 2024

The Supreme Court on Monday turned away an appeal from several allies of former President Trump challenging how President Biden removed them from military advisory boards. —Zach Schonfeld, The Hill, 4 Nov. 2024

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has successfully made his state the only one in the country that isn’t required to follow the Biden administration’s efforts to ensure that emergency departments don’t turn away patients like Crain. —Lizzie Presser and Kavitha Surana, CNN, 3 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2

Kids Definition

turn away

verb

: to refuse to let in : send away

all the seats were sold and a large crowd had to be turned away