Antonyms for turn back on
Grammar : Verb |
Spell : bak |
Phonetic Transcription : bæk |
- accept
- accomplish
- achieve
- acknowledge
- admire
- admit
- agree
- allow
- approve
- attend
- build up
- cherish
- claim
- commend
- complete
- compliment
- concur
- confirm
- confront
- consent
- corroborate
- embrace
- emphasize
- encounter
- endorse
- esteem
- face
- finish
- flatter
- grant
- heed
- keep
- laud
- like
- look at
- love
- meet
- note
- notice
- offer
- OK
- own
- pay attention
- permit
- praise
- ratify
- recognize
- regard
- respect
- retain
- sanction
- succeed
- take notice
- take on
- uphold
Definition of turn back on
Origin :- Old English bæc "back," from Proto-Germanic *bakam (cf. Old Saxon and Middle Dutch bak, Old Frisian bek), with no known connections outside Germanic.
- The cognates mostly have been ousted in this sense in other modern Germanic languages by words akin to Modern English ridge (cf. Danish ryg, German Rücken). Many Indo-European languages show signs of once having distinguished the horizontal back of an animal (or a mountain range) from the upright back of a human. In other cases, a modern word for "back" may come from a word related to "spine" (Italian schiena, Russian spina) or "shoulder, shoulder blade" (Spanish espalda, Polish plecy).
- To turn (one's) back on (someone or something) "ignore" is from early 14c. Behind (someone's) back "clandestinely" is from late 14c.
- To know (something) like the back of one's hand, implying familiarity, is first attested 1893. The first attested use of the phrase is from a dismissive speech made to a character in Robert Louis Stevenson's "Catriona":
- If I durst speak to herself, you may be certain I would never dream of trusting it to you; because I know you like the back of my hand, and all your blustering talk is that much wind to me.
- The story, a sequel to "Kidnapped," has a Scottish setting and context, and the back of my hand to you was noted in the late 19th century as a Scottish expression meaning "I will have nothing to do with you" [e.g. "Jamieson's Dictionary of the Scottish Language"]. In English generally, the back of (one's) hand has been used to imply contempt and rejection since at least 1300. Perhaps the connection of a menacing dismissal is what made Stevenson choose that particular anatomical reference.
- As in refuse : verb deny; say no
- As in scorn : verb hold in contempt; look down on
- As in shun : verb avoid, ignore
- As in disclaim : verb deny
- As in ignore : verb disregard on purpose
Synonyms for turn back on
- abandon
- abhor
- abjure
- abnegate
- avoid
- be above
- be oblivious to
- beg off
- belittle
- bilk
- blink
- brush off
- bury one's head in sand
- cold-shoulder
- confute
- consider beneath one
- contemn
- contradict
- contravene
- criticize
- cut
- decline
- defy
- demur
- deprecate
- deride
- desist
- despise
- disaccord
- disacknowledge
- disaffirm
- disallow
- disapprove
- disavow
- discard
- discount
- disdain
- disown
- disparage
- dispense with
- disregard
- dissent
- ditch
- divorce oneself from
- dodge
- double
- duck
- elude
- escape
- eschew
- evade
- fail
- flout
- forget
- forswear
- gainsay
- get around
- gibe
- give a wide berth
- give the runaround
- give thumbs down to
- hate
- have no part of
- have nothing to do with
- hide out
- hold back
- hold off
- hold out
- ignore
- keep away from
- keep clear of
- let it go
- look the other way
- make excuses
- make fun of
- minimize
- mock
- negate
- neglect
- nix
- not budge
- not budget
- not buy
- not care to
- omit
- overlook
- overpass
- palm off
- pass over
- pass up
- pay no attention to
- pay no mind
- pooh-pooh
- protest
- put down
- rebuff
- recant
- refuse
- refuse to receive
- refute
- regret
- reject
- renounce
- repel
- reprobate
- repudiate
- retract
- revoke
- ridicule
- run down
- scoff at
- scorn
- send off
- send regrets
- set aside
- shake
- shake off
- shun
- shut eyes to
- shy
- slight
- sneer
- snub
- spurn
- stall
- stand aloof from
- stay shy of
- steer clear of
- take no notice
- taunt
- trash
- traverse
- tune out
- turn away
- turn back on
- turn blind eye
- turn deaf ear
- turn deaf ear to
- turn down
- turn from
- turn nose up at
- turn one's back on
- wash hands of
- wink
- withdraw
- withhold
Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019