turn

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. rotation, revolution; twirl, twist; deflection, diversion; coil, convulsion; change; crisis; aptitude, ability, skill; act, skit; spell, shift, tour, trick. —v. revolve, rotate, pivot; reel; rebel, retaliate; shape, round, finish; change, move; invert, reverse; upset, derange; deflect, divert, veer, shift; pervert, prejudice, repel; avert; curdle, ferment, sour. See inversion, form, curvature, occasion, deviation, sourness, regularity.

- turn down - turning point - turn on

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [a revolution]

Syn. rotation, cycle, circle, round, circulation, pirouette, gyre, gyration, spin, round-about-face, roll, turning, circumrotation, spiral; see also revolution 1 .

2. [A bend]

Syn. curve, winding, twist, wind, hook, shift, angle, corner, fork, branch.

3. [A turning point]

Syn. climax, crisis, juncture, emergency, critical period, crossing, change, New development, shift, twist.

4. [*A shock]

Syn. fright, jolt, blow; see surprise 2 .

5. [*An action]

Syn. deed, accomplishment, service; see aid 1 .

6. [A change in course]

Syn. curve, detour, deviation, corner, ground loop, stem turn, jump turn, Christiania turn, Christy*, Telemark turn, Telemark, kick turn, inside loop, outside loop, left or right wing spin, tight spin, tight spiral, roll, Immelmann turn, Immelmann*.

• at every turn,

Syn. in every instance, constantly, consistently; see regularly 1 .

• by turns,

Syn. taking turns, in succession, one after another, alternately, consecutively.

• call the turn,

Syn. anticipate, predict, expect; see foretell .

• take turns,

Syn. do by turns, do in succession, share; see alternate 1 .

• to a turn,

Syn. correctly, properly, to the right degree, to a T; see perfectly 1 .

v.

1. [To pivot]

Syn. revolve, rotate, roll, spin, wheel, whirl, gyre, circulate, go around, swivel; round, twist, twirl, gyrate, ground, loop; see also swing 1 .

2. [To reverse]

Syn. go back, tack, recoil, change, upset, retrace, face about, turn around, capsize, shift, alter, vary, convert, transform, invert, subvert, return, alternate.

3. [To divert]

Syn. deflect, veer, turn aside, turn away, sidetrack, swerve, put off, call off, turn off, deviate, dodge, twist, avoid, shift, switch, avert, zigzag, shy away, shunt, redirect, shunt aside, shunt away, draw aside.

4. [To become]

Syn. grow into, change into, pass into; see become 1 .

5. [To sour]

Syn. curdle, acidify, become rancid; see ferment , sour .

6. [To change direction]

Syn. swerve, swirl, swing, bend, veer, tack, round to, incline, deviate, detour, loop, curve, ground loop*, stem turn*, ramble*, jump turn*, kick turn*, Telemark*.

7. [To incline]

Syn. prefer, be predisposed to, favor; see lean 1 , tend 2 .

8. [To sprain]

Syn. strain, bruise, dislocate; see hurt 1 , wrench .

9. [To nauseate]

Syn. sicken, make one sick, revolt; see disgust .

10. [To bend]

Syn. curve, twist, fold; see bend 1 .

11. [To transform]

Syn. transmute, remake, transpose; see change 1 .

12. [To make use of]

Syn. apply, adapt, utilize; see use 1 .

13. [To point]

Syn. direct, set, train; see aim 2 .

14. [To repel]

Syn. repulse, push back, throw back; see repel 1 .

See Synonym Study at bend .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

1. revolution rotation, gyration, circle, curving, circuit, cycle, gyre, spin, twirl, eddy, whirl, roll, about-face, deviation, pivot, twist, shift, winding, convolution.

2. change of direction change of course, deviation, swerve, turnabout, reversal, divergence, shift, switch, curve, detour, fork, shunt, deflection.

3. curve bend, hairpin turn, S-curve, zigzag, U-turn, arc, tack, dogleg, oxbow, hook.

4. opportunity *crack, *shot, try, move, time, chance, go, *whack, spell.

5. shock fright, start, scare.

6. action act, deed, favor, kindness, service.

II

v.

1. revolve rotate, go round, wheel, gyrate, circle, make a circuit, cycle, spin, twirl, eddy, whirl, roll, pivot, wind, crank, curve, swerve, veer.

2. change direction change course, curve, swerve, veer, deviate, diverge, detour, sidetrack, shunt, *take a fork in the road, diverge, reverse, loop, do an about-face, make a U-turn, follow a serpentine path, zigzag.

3. reverse invert, transpose, flip over, turn upside down, turn inside out.

4. change transform, alter, metamorphose, convert, transmute, mutate, transmogrify, reconstruct, remodel.

5. go sour go bad, spoil, ferment, curdle, putrefy, rot, become tainted.

6. sicken nauseate, unsettle.

7. twist, as an ankle sprain, wrench, dislocate, throw out of joint.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I verb 1. To move or cause to move in circles or around an axis: circle, circumvolve, gyrate, orbit, revolve, rotate, wheel. See MOVE, REPETITION. 2. To spade or dig (soil) to bring the undersoil to the surface: plow, turn over. See MOVE. 3. To make or become less sharp-edged: blunt, dull. Idiom: take the edge off. See SHARP. 4. To twist and turn, as in pain, struggle, or embarrassment: agonize, squirm, toss, writhe. See REPETITION. 5. To injure a (bodily part) by twisting: sprain, wrench. See HEALTH. 6. To disturb the health or physiological functioning of: derange, disorder, unsettle, upset. See HEALTH. 7. To change the direction or course of: avert, deflect, deviate, divert, pivot, shift, swing, veer. See CHANGE. 8. To cause to move, especially at an angle: angle2, bend, deflect, refract. See STRAIGHT. 9. To swerve from a straight line: angle2, arc, arch, bend, bow2, crook, curve, round. See STRAIGHT. 10. To change to the opposite position, direction, or course. Also used with about, around, over, or round: invert, reverse, transpose. See CHANGE. 11. To make or become different: alter, change, modify, mutate, vary. See CHANGE. 12. To abandon one's cause or party usually to join another: apostatize, defect, desert3, renegade, tergiversate. Slang: rat. Idioms: change sides, turn one's coat. See APPROACH, TRUST. 13. To move (a weapon or blow, for example) in the direction of someone or something: aim, cast, direct, head, level, point, set1, train, zero in. Military: lay1. See SEEK. 14. To devote (oneself or one's efforts): address, apply, bend, buckle down, concentrate, dedicate, devote, direct, focus, give. See COLLECT, WORK. 15. To become or cause to become rotten or unsound: breakdown, decay, decompose, deteriorate, disintegrate, molder, putrefy, rot, spoil, taint. Idioms: go bad, go to pot, go to seed. See BETTER, THRIVE. 16. To look to when in need: apply, go, refer, repair2, resort, run. Idioms: fall back on (or upon), have recourse to. See USED. 17. To come to be. Also used with out: become, come, get, grow, wax. See CHANGE. II noun 1. Circular movement around a point or about an axis: circuit, circulation, circumvolution, gyration, revolution, rotation, wheel, whirl. See GEOMETRY, REPETITION. 2. A calculated change in position: evolution, maneuver, move, movement. See MOVE. 3. Something bent: bend, bow2, crook, curvature, curve, round. See STRAIGHT. 4. An often sudden change or departure, as in a trend: shift, tack, twist. See CHANGE. 5. A limited, often assigned period of activity, duty, or opportunity: bout, go, hitch, inning (often used in plural), shift, spell3, stint, stretch, time, tour, trick, watch. See TIME. 6. An inclination to something: bent, bias, cast, disposition, leaning, partiality, penchant, predilection, predisposition, proclivity, proneness, propensity, squint, tendency, trend. See APPROACH, LIKE. 7. An innate capability: aptitude, aptness, bent, faculty, flair, genius, gift, head, instinct, knack, talent. See ABILITY, APPROACH. 8. A course, process, or journey that ends where it began or repeats itself: circle, circuit, cycle, orbit, round, tour. See REPETITION. 9. A usually brief and regular journey on foot, especially for exercise: constitutional, walk. See MOVE.