Turn Back

Definition: Turn Back

Turn Back

Verb

1. Retrace one's course; "The hikers got into a storm and had to turn back".

2. Go back to a previous state; "We reverted to the old rules".

3. Force to go away; used both with concrete and metaphoric meanings; "Drive away potential burglars'; "drive away bad thoughts"; "dispel doubts"; "The supermarket had to turn back many disappointed customers".

4. Hold back, as of a danger or an enemy; check the expansion or influence of; "Arrest the downward trend"; "Check the growth of communism in SE Asia"; "Contain the rebel movement"; "Turn back athe tide of communism".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Synonyms: Turn Back

Regression

Verb: recede, regrade, return, revert, retreat, retire; retrograde, retrocede; back out; back down; balk; crawfish, crawl; withdraw; rebound; go back, come back, turn back, hark back, draw back, fall back, get back, put back, run back; lose ground; fall astern, drop astern; backwater, put about; backtrack, take the back track; veer round; double, wheel, countermarch; ebb, regurgitate; jib, shrink, shy.

Reversion

Verb: revert, turn back, regress; relapse; recoil; retreat; restore; undo, unmake; turn the tide, roll back the tide, turn the scale, tip the scale.

Crosswords: Turn Back

I turn back, and Randa McKinning throws up all over herself (Signs; writing credit: M. Night Shyamalan)

Turn back, Sarah (Labyrinth; writing credit: Dennis Lee; Jim Henson)

If I could turn back time, hoooooooooooe (Will & Grace; writing credit: Evan Weinstein)

Fuel status says we turn back now. (The Hunt for Red October; writing credit: Larry Ferguson)

If only I could turn back time, (Turn Back Time; performing artist: Aqua)

Sometimes I wish I could turn back time (Quit Playing Games; performing artist: Backstreet Boys)

And I can't turn back now (I Need You; performing artist: LeAnn Rimes)

And take me away and turn back the years ("Sing Me Back Home"; performing artist: Merle Haggard)

If I could turn back time (Wherever You Will Go; performing artist: The Calling)

You may not be able to turn back the clock, but you can always wind it up again. (references; author: unknown)

Turn Back the Clock (1933)

Turn Back The Hands of Time (performing artist: Tyrone Davis)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• Citizen, Turn Back!: A Russian-American Odyssey (reference)

• Never Turn Back : The Life of Whitewater Pioneers (reference)

• Turn Back Time (reference)

  (more book examples)

Music

• Don't Turn Back [CD-SINGLE] (reference)

• If I Could Turn Back Time-Cher (reference)

• Turn Back (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

We cannot turn back. (Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1952)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

He could not longer turn back.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Civil Liberties

Malaysia

Police set up roadblocks and monitored bus stations, train stations, and airports to turn back suspected opposition supporters. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Expression using "turn back": To turn back. Additional references.

Albanian

palos (double, double up, flatten, fold, furl, turn down), ndërroj rrugë, kthehem (backtrack, bend, come back, flounce, get back, go back, lurch, move back, redound, rejoin, return, set, slew, start back, take turns, turn aside, turn over, turn round, veer, wheel). (various references)

Arabic 

‏نكص (recoil, regress, retrograde, withdraw), ‏قلب الى الوراء, ‏تراجع (back away, back down, back up, backwards, blemish, degradation, draw back, drawback, fall back, fall behind, give back, give ground, give the right of way, kick, lose ground, move back, palinode, recede, recess, recession, recoil, regress, regression, renege, retire, retract, retraction, retreat, retreating, retrogression, sell out, stand, take back, unsay, withdraw), ‏عاد (come back, get back, pass back, regain, return, revert, roll in, step in), ‏رجع (assign, back, come back, cut back, get back, give back, go back, pass back, rebound, reconsider, reestablish, reinstate, render, report back, resound, retreat, return, reverse, revert, send back, snap back, step back, turn, turn in). (various references)

Bulgarian 

връщам се (come back, drive back, flow back, get back, go back, recur, regurgitate, revert), отгръщам, обръщам се (about turn, appeal, apply, resort, turn, turn over, veer, work round), прегъвам (bend, fold, reflect, turn), подвивам (bend, clench, tuck, tuck in). (various references)

Chinese 

踅 (to walk around, turn back midway, walk with one leg). (various references)

Czech

zbabìlec (chicken, coward, faint-heart, poltroon, turnback), vrátit se (come back, get back, go back, redound, retrace, return), vrátit (counter, give back, hand back, put back, remit, repay, restore, retrieve, return, take back), poslat zpìt. (various references)

Dutch

zich omkeren (turn, turn around, turn round), ronddraaien (turn, turn around, turn round), omkeren (overthrow, turn, turn around, turn over, turn round, upset), omdraaien (turn, turn around, turn round). (various references)

Esperanto

turni sin (turn, turn around, turn round). (various references)

French

revenir (turn), retourner (turn, turn around, turn round), replier (tuck, turn down), reculer, rebrousser, faire demi-tour (turn about, turn around). (various references)

German

zurückgehen (abate, check back, cut back, double back, fall back, fall off, get back, go back, go down, head back, peak off, reach back, recede, reminiscence, retreat, retrograde, return, sag, shrink, slip back, to go back, to retrograde, trace back), umstülpen (reverse, turn upside down, upend), umschlagen (change suddenly, crack, double back, envelop, fold back, knock over, put on, transfer, transship, turn down, veer round), umkehren (change one's ways, invert, overturn, retrace one's steps, reversal, reverse, to turn back, turn around, turn inside out, turn upside down, turndown), umdrehen (invert, reverse, roll over, skew, turn, turn around, turn inside out, turn over, turn round, turnabout, Upend, upturn), kehrtmachen (about face, about turn, do an about-turn, double back, face about, turn about, turn round), aufschlagen (blaze up, crack, crack open, crash, cut open, erection, go up, hit, lift, lift up, open, pitch, raise, serve, set up, slam, turn up), überschlagen (break, cross, estimate, fold, lukewarm, project, skip, slightly warm, tepid). (various references)

Greek 

γυρίζω πίσω (go back, set back). (various references)

Hebrew 

לחזור באות�" �"רך (back track). (various references)

Hungarian

visszafordul (to shunt, to turn back, to turn over, to wheel about, to wheel round), visszafordít (shunt, to bring about, to shunt, to turn back, turn round), felhajt (head back, mop up, put up, roll up, round up, seek, send up, to beat up, to cock, to flush, to hem, to kite, to mop up, to quaff, to quaff off, to ride up, to riffle, to round up, to roust out, to rout out, to turn up, tuck up, turn up). (various references)

Indonesian

mengebelakangkan, berbalik (turn around, turn over). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

立ち�"る (to turn back), �"ち�"す (to come and retreat, to plow up, to return a blow repeat, to rewhip, to turn back), 戻る (to return, to turn back). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

たちかえる (to turn back), うちかえす (to come and retreat, to plow up, to return a blow repeat, to rewhip, to turn back), もどる (to return, to turn back). (various references)

Manx

filley seose (enfold, turn up, turn up as dress). (various references)

Maori

hoki-a (to turn back). (various references)

Pig Latin

urntay ackbay.(various references)

Portuguese

voltar‐se (turn around, turn round), voltar para trás (recede, subside), voltar para rio, girar (circle, circuit, dance, gyrate, pivot, revolve, slue, slue round, spin, swing, troll, trundle, turn, turn around, turn round, twiddle, wind), darvoltas (turn around, turn round). (various references)

Russian 

оглянуться, прогонять (chase away, drive away, hunt away, send off, turn away), повернуть назад (revert). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

vratiti (bring back, give back, hand back, pay back, reclaim, refund, remand, render, replace, requite, restore, return, send back, take back), vraćati se (head back, return), pomeriti unazad (set back), odbiti (cast aside, counter, decline, deduct, deny, disallow, dock, drive back, fend off, fight off, keep off, knock off, overrule, parry, rebuff, reflect, refuse, reject, repel, repudiate, repulse, stave off, strike up, throw back, turn away, turn down, ward off, wean), ići natrag. (various references)

Spanish

volverse sobre sus pasos, volverse (become, come over, get, get over, go, lead back, turn, turn about, turn around), retroceder (back, back away, back up, fall back, flinch, give ground, go back, go backwards, move back, move backwards, push back, recede, regress, retrogress, stand back, walk backward), retrasar (back up, check, delay, hold up, pull back, put back, retard, set back, sojourn, take back), hacer volver (call back, lead back, recall, send back), hacer retroceder (push back, set back). (various references)

Swedish

vända tillbaka, vända om (invert, reverse, turn), komma tillbaka (come back, return), återvända (get back, go back, put back, return). (various references)

Turkish

reddetmek (abnegate, cast off, challenge, controvert, damn, declare off, deny, disaffirm, disallow, disapprove, disavow, disdain, dismiss, disown, dispute, draw the line, fall down, gainsay, negate, negative, Nix, overrule, protest, quash, rebut, refuse, refute, reject, renege, renounce, repel, repudiate, rule out, scout, set aside, spurn, take objection to, throw out, turn down, turn thumbs down on, veto, wave aside), katlamak (bend, crease, Crimp, double, drape, enfold, fold, fold down, fold down back, infold, pleat, shut, tuck, tuck up), kıvırmak (angle, bend, contort, Crimp, crisp, crook, curl, curl up, do successfully, drape, enfold, entwine, entwist, fold, fold down, frill, frizz, frizzle, gauffer, goffer, gopher, handle, have a command of, inflect, intwine, manage, meander, squirm, squirm out of, tuck, tuck in, tuck up, turn down, twist, wind, wind up), gerilemek (degrade, deteriorate, draw back, drop back, drop behind, drop off, fall back, lose ground, recede, redound, regress, remount, retreat, retrograde, slip, stand back, worsen), geri dönmek (hark back, put back, regain, return, return to), geri almak (claw back, declare off, draw back, recall, recapture, resume, retake, retract, retrieve, revoke, set back, swallow, take back, withdraw), geri çevirmek (decline, fall down, rebuff, refuse, reject, repel, repulse, reverse, spurn, turn away), dönmek (abjure, apostatize, bear, budge from, call back, change one's mind, chop about, chop round, circle, come back, come home, deflect, face, front, get round, go back, go back on, gyrate, pivot, put about, recall, recant, reel, regress, renege, repass, return, return to, revert, revolve, rotate, round, screw, sheer from, slew, slue, spin, swallow, swerve, swim, swing, switch, switch to, tumble, turn, turn one's coat, turn over, turn round, turn up, twist, veer, veer round, wheel, wheel about, wheel around, whirl). (various references)

Ukrainian

відступити, обернутися (look behind), прогнати. (various references)

Welsh

atroi. (various references)

reflexa, reversa, reversae, reversaeque, reversam, reversi, reversique, reversum, reversurum, reversurus, reversus, reversusque, revertamini, revertamur, revertantur, revertar, revertaris, revertatur, revertebantur, revertebatur, revertebaturque, revertemini, revertemur, revertendi, revertens, revertensque, revertente, revertentem, revertentes, revertentesque, revertenti, revertentia, revertentibus, revertentium, revertentur, revertere, reverteremur, reverterentur, reverteretur, reverteris, reverterunt, revertetur, reverti, revertimini, revertissent, revertitur, revertiturque, revertuntur. (various references)

replier, retorner. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-1 letter: cutbank, runback.

-2 letters: buckra, turban, untack.

-3 letters: bract, brank, brant, brunt, buran, burnt, crank, knaur, kraut, kurta, tabun, track, trank, truck, trunk, unbar, urban.

-4 letters: abut, aunt, back, bank, bark, barn, bran, brat, brut, buck, bunk, bunt, bura, burn, cant, carb, cark, carn, cart, crab, curb, curn, curt, karn, kart, kbar, knar, knur, kuna.

+2 letters: bankruptcy.

+3 letters: backcountry, unbracketed.

+4 letters: backcourtman, backcourtmen, bankruptcies.

+5 letters: backcountries.