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Turn away meaning

Turn away means to turn your face or body so you do not look at something. It can also mean to refuse to let someone come in.

Check yourself: 3 questionsAll 11 phrasal verbs with turn

turn away

turn away · turned · turning

B1No object+2 more meanings

She turned away and started to cry.

Turn away meanings and examples

3 meanings, each with its own CEFR level. A level marked ~ is our estimate: Oxford and Cambridge give none for that meaning.

  1. 1turn your face or body so you do not look at something
  2. 2refuse to let someone come in
  3. 3stop supporting or choosing something
  1. 1

    Turn your face or body so you do not look at something

    turn away

    B1No object

    • She turned away and started to cry.
    • He turned away from the screen.
    • Don’t turn away. Look at me.
  2. 2

    Refuse to let someone come in

    turn somebody or something away

    B2Separable

    • The club turned him away at the door.
    • Hundreds of fans were turned away from the stadium.
    • The hospital had to turn away new patients.
  3. 3

    Stop supporting or choosing something

    turn away something

    C1Not separable

    • Many voters have turned away from the party.
    • He turned away from his old friends.
    • They turned away from violence.
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Is turn away separable?

Turn away is separable when you refuse someone: turn the customers away, turn them away. When you face away yourself, there is no object: She turned away.

Turn away from is the form for moving your attention or support to something else: turn away from your past. The passive is very common: Fans were turned away.

Verb tenses for turn away

PresentI turn away · she turns away
Pastturned away
Present perfecthave turned away
-ing formturning away

Common mistakes with turn away

What learners often say, and what to say instead.

  • Wrong: They turned away him.

    Right: They turned him away.

    A pronoun goes between turn and away.

  • Wrong: She turned away her face from me.

    Right: She turned her face away from me.

    The noun goes between turn and away here.

  • Wrong: The shop turned away me because I was late.

    Right: The shop turned me away because I was late.

    Keep the pronoun in the middle.

Synonyms and opposites of turn away

Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.

Similar

  • look awayturn your eyes to another place
  • send awaytell someone to leave
  • rejectrefuse to accept a person or an idea

Opposite

Turn away quiz

Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.

  1. 1The restaurant was full, so they ___ many people ___ at the door.

  2. 2Choose the right sentence.

  3. 3She heard the bad news and turned away. What did she do?

More phrasal verbs with turn

All phrasal verbs with turn, by level, with an exercise

11 phrasal verbs start with turn. Test yourself on all of them in a few minutes.

Test yourself on turnTake the full test

Turn away FAQ

Questions people ask about turn away.

What does turn away mean?

It means face a different direction, or refuse to let someone enter. Doctors cannot turn away a patient in an emergency.

What does “turn away from” mean?

It means stop paying attention to or supporting something. Many young people turned away from the party.

What is the difference between turn away and turn down?

Turn away is about a person at a door or an event. Turn down is about an offer, an invitation or a request.

Use turn away in real conversations

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