AAAmerican Accent US

turn away

Separable

The object can go before or after the particle — but a pronoun MUST go in the middle: “clean it up”, never “clean up it”.

How to say it

Stress the particle, not the verb: turn AWAY. Saying “TURN away” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.

Link across the gap. The final /n/ of “turn” moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “turn away” is said “tur-naway”. Pausing between the words is what makes phrasal verbs sound recited rather than spoken.

What it means

  1. To refuse entry or help to someone.

    • “The venue was full and they turned people away at the door.”

    Similar: refuse, reject

The particle logic

away

Something moves off, vanishes, or keeps going steadily.

Listen + practice

Hear “turn away” spoken naturally

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Read the sentence aloud. Keep the stress on the particle and run the two words together — we’ll score every sound and flag what to work on.

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More TURN phrasal verbs

Compare the whole family →

turn off

To switch a device or supply off.

turn on

To switch a device or supply on.

turn into

To become something different.

turn down

To reject an offer or request.

turn up

To arrive, often unexpectedly or late.

turn out

To prove to be the case in the end.

turn over

To flip something so the other side is up.

turn around

To face or move in the opposite direction.

turn in

To submit work to someone in authority.

turn away — meaning, examples & how to say it