TURNS DOWN Synonyms: 87 Similar and Opposite Words

turns down

verb

present tense third-person singular of turn down

as in refuses

to show unwillingness to accept, do, engage in, or agree to I'm afraid that I will have to turn down your invitation

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of turns down The candidate who turns down your offer doesn’t necessarily go on to repeat what was heard. — Jon Michail, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026 Pairing a floral sundress with a pair of white sneakers turns down the volume on the feminine formality, making the classic piece a bit less fussy. — Amber Rambharose, InStyle, 18 June 2026 If a local school board turns down a charter, the organizers can appeal to the OC Board, which covers the whole county. — John Seiler, Oc Register, 13 May 2026 May 14, 2014 Steve Kerr is hired Kerr turns down an offer from the New York Knicks to work with Phil Jackson, his former coach with the Chicago Bulls, to sign a five-year, $25 million contract to coach the Warriors. — Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 10 May 2026 When Towns turns down 3-point shots, the Hawks win. — James L. Edwards Iii, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2026 And there’s another anatomical quirk in our eyeballs that turns down our perception of blue specifically in the center of our vision. — Nora Bradford, Scientific American, 23 Mar. 2026 But everyone seemed to agree that this year’s event was about more than just linking turns down the snowy slopes. — James Edward Mills, Outside, 15 Mar. 2026 Stung by his firing from The Lovely Bones, Wahlberg turns down The Fighter, thinking the film won’t be a big enough splash to turn his career around. — Joe Reid, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for turns down

Verb

In the event that Bally’s refuses to respond with full candor and information, the City Council may need to consider options up to and including suspending the Bally’s license.

— Joe Ferguson, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026
The channel, which is banned inside Iran, refuses to disclose its private donors.

— Cora Engelbrecht, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of refuses

Verb

So when Alex rejects the author of a romantasy novel entitled The Goblin Seed that turns out to be a bestseller, all hell breaks loose.

— Joy Press, Vanity Fair, 24 Aug. 2026
Manjari Sihare-Sutin, who heads Sotheby’s South Asian Modern and Contemporary department, said her team rejects an average of two works ahead of every sale because of authenticity concerns.

— Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of rejects

Verb

The fee applies during the first 13 years of the agreement and gradually declines over the remaining initial term.

— Sydney Sasser, Arkansas Online, 1 Sep. 2026
Recent findings show that early-career workers – ages 22 to 25 – in occupations most vulnerable to AI automation, such as software development and customer service, have experienced employment declines.

— Maria Black, Fortune, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of declines

Browse Nearby Words

turns color

turns down

turns in

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“Turns down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/turns%20down. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of turns down

verb

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