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 sense 2, avert

intransitive verb

: to start to go away : depart

Synonyms of turn away

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

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

That suffering has intensified with every Israeli bomb dropped on ambulances waiting outside hospitals, every drone strike targeting a residential building or journalist, and every shipment of food aid turned away at a border crossing. — Jesse Zanger, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026

Past lending scrutiny for Wells Fargo While the new federal probe looks into whether minority buyers received preferential terms, earlier reports this year focused on claims that minority applicants were unfairly turned away. — Chase Jordan october 7, Charlotte Observer, 7 Oct. 2026

Argentine President Javier Milei has forged intimate diplomatic, trade and business ties with the White House while turning away from other global players, particularly members of the BRICS organization of emerging economies that includes China. — Cecilia Degl’innocenti, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2026

But DeepSeek is vetting prospective investors closely, turning away private investment funds raised from individual investors and limiting the pool largely to government and corporate funds, the people said. — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 6 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

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

Rhymes for turn away

• aaa
• alleyway
• alumnae
• anime
• anyway
• arete
• attache
• axillae
• baa
• beaujolais
• bouvier
• breakaway

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