Meaning of about-turn | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A turn of 180 degrees, typically in a military formation .
   British
2. Total reversal of opinion or attitude .

Equivalents

Examples

“A sell-out crowd of 10,000 then observed perfectly a period of silence before the team revealed their black armbands, complete⟳ with stitched-in poppies, for the match⟳. After Fifa’s about-turn, it must have⟳ been a frantic few days for the England kit manufacturer. The on-field challenge⟳ was altogether more straightforward.”

“When Francis visited Chile in 2018, he dismissed the protesters and accused them of “calumny” in the full gaze of the world’s press⟳. It caused the head of the Vatican’s own⟳ sex abuse commission to rebuke his boss publicly. Back in Rome, Francis responded by dispatching an envoy to look⟳ into the case. When his report⟳ came back siding with the protesters, Francis did a swift about-turn and described what he said on his visit⟳ to Chile as “the lowest moment” of his papacy.”

CEFR level