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
Woods turns back a surprising challenge Chris DiMarco with a 15-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole to capture his fourth green jacket.
—
Senior Editor, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2026
Hearing the Creature screaming his name, Victor turns back.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Mar. 2026
Their discussion then turns back to the potential of a romance—and heartbreak—between them.
—Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 21 Feb. 2026
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
Senior Editor, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2026
Hearing the Creature screaming his name, Victor turns back.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Mar. 2026
Their discussion then turns back to the potential of a romance—and heartbreak—between them.
—Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 21 Feb. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for turns back
Verb
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Get it before this deal turns away from your doorstep.—
Juhi Wadia,
PC Magazine,
23 Apr. 2026
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More chatting, the camera turns away to shoot some B-roll.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The South China Morning Post stated that this molecule uses its rigid, bulky structure to physically shield the iron core from chemical attack, while its strong negative charge creates a force field that repels leaking particles.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Apr. 2026
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Marigolds also give off an odor that repels garden pests while attracting pollinators with their warm, brilliant colors.—
Heather Bien,
The Spruce,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Sigmund Freud believed that every crush has a strand of disgust, that people are attracted to what repulses them.—
Daniel Felsenthal,
Vulture,
26 Mar. 2026
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Charlie, though, is trying to keep them out of a country that thoroughly repulses him.—
Alexander Nazaryan,
New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The book resists tidy moral conclusions.—
Andrew Silow-Carroll,
Sun Sentinel,
28 Apr. 2026
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Best of all, the Tony nominee smartly resists overplaying the joke, grounding the part enough that Brad's unraveling becomes funnier.—
Dave Quinn,
PEOPLE,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Turns back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/turns%20back. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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