Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The act of pivoting to face in the opposite direction from the original, especially in a military formation.
- noun A military command to turn clockwise 180°.
- noun A total change of attitude or viewpoint.
- intransitive verb To reverse direction.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun military An abrupt turn to face the
opposite direction . - noun A reversal in direction; reversal of attitude or opinion.
- verb intransitive To
turn 180degrees toface theopposite direction ; - verb To change opinion or attitude drastically.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb turn, usually 180 degrees
- verb change one's mind and assume the opposite viewpoint
- noun a major change in attitude or principle or point of view
- noun act of pivoting 180 degrees, especially in a military formation
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word about-face.
Examples
-
That would entail an about-face for the IMF, which has spent the last year or two arguing that nations needed to make deficit-reduction goal No. 1.
Three Buttons the IMF Could Push Sudeep Reddy 2011
-
It's an about-face from the recession, when Saks and its peers aggressively broadened their products to add more entry-level prices.
Saks Trims Loss; Sales Rise Elizabeth Holmes 2011
-
The Huffington post points out that this is an abrupt about-face for the FASB:
Banks Seeking To Value Assets Higher Than Market Value - The Consumerist 2009
-
The move marks an abrupt about-face one year after Gleacher announced a big hiring wave for its equity sales and trading operations and more than three years after the current business was acquired.
Boutique Bank Gleacher Shuts Stock-Trading Unit Liz Moyer 2011
-
Chicago-based Boeing's decision to add new fuel-efficient engines to the 737 rather than introduce a new plane is an abrupt about-face.
Boeing Chooses Upgrade Over Brand New Peter Sanders 2011
-
The companies' shares tumbled last week after an about-face in German nuclear policy threw into doubt the prospects of a business that seemed a surefire profit stream before the Japan crisis.
Reactor Closures Leave E.ON, RWE an Upside Jan Hromadko 2011
-
Girardi—who spoke with his shortstop several times Tuesday night and conferred with general manager Brian Cashman—did an about-face, saying he'd likely keep Jeter in the lineup until he reaches the milestone.
A Reluctant Ringmaster In Derek Jeter's Circus Daniel Barbarisi 2011
-
Iran appeared to have scored a big victory on Friday when the Iran-based firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr did an about-face and told lawmakers in his movement to endorse Mr. Maliki, giving the incumbent prime minister a big leg up in trying to form a new government.
Baghdad Wrangling Rattles Iran Ties Sam Dagher 2010
-
Rodriguez has been involved in a similar about-face in his career.
Nationals hope new faces lead way out of last place in NL East 2010
-
The shift back into discounting mode is an about-face from the previous holiday season and earlier this year, when lean inventories allowed retailers to hold the line on prices.
Retailers' Holiday Hinges on Discounts Elizabeth Holmes 2010
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.