Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The act of pivoting to face in the opposite direction from the original, especially in a military formation.
- n. A military command to turn clockwise 180°.
- n. A total change of attitude or viewpoint.
- v. To reverse direction.
Wiktionary
- n. military An abrupt turn to face the opposite direction.
- n. A reversal in direction; reversal of attitude or opinion.
- v. intransitive To turn 180 degrees to face the opposite direction;
- v. To change opinion or attitude drastically.
WordNet 3.0
- v. turn, usually 180 degrees
- v. change one's mind and assume the opposite viewpoint
- n. a major change in attitude or principle or point of view
- n. act of pivoting 180 degrees, especially in a military formation
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.”
“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.”
The Wall Street Journal: A Reluctant Ringmaster In Derek Jeter's Circus
“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
“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.”
The Wall Street Journal: Reactor Closures Leave E.ON, RWE an Upside
“It's an about-face from the recession, when Saks and its peers aggressively broadened their products to add more entry-level prices.”
“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.”
The Wall Street Journal: Baghdad Wrangling Rattles Iran Ties
“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.”
The Wall Street Journal: Retailers' Holiday Hinges on Discounts
“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.”
The Wall Street Journal: Boeing Chooses Upgrade Over Brand New
“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
“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.”
The Wall Street Journal: Boutique Bank Gleacher Shuts Stock-Trading Unit
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘about-face’.
-
About Face
face, about face, about-face, facet, faced, face card, face value, face facts, facetious, Janus-faced, Boniface, volte-face and 70 more...
-
Military Matters
words of mass (or minor) destruction
caltrop, stylet, chassepot, baldric, rewet, blunderbuss, musket, flintlock, howitzer, ordnance, casque, dragoon and 148 more...
-
newGRE
mostly from magoosh
imbue, verge on, nonchalant, deliberate, timorous, futile, provisional, dissect, checked, tinged, alluring, visionary and 1046 more...
-
My GRE
concomitant, mendacity, corollary, mandate, ascertain, exacerbate, substantiate, perennial, exemplify, hegemony, acrimonious, repertoire and 653 more...
-
Metaflip
Blasted binaries, background pattern inversions, and subtlety awareness.
apophenia, fissiparous, doppelganger, intertextuality, presque vu, unsung, dittology, enantiodromia, pareidolia, silhouette, rorschach, galanty and 151 more...
-
gre2
aberrant, aboveboard, abrasive, abstemious, acme, admonish, affable, affluent, alacrity, allegory, alleviate, amalgam and 1781 more...
-
Bergen
words related to Morednism, Christianity, Philosophy, Religion, and stuff
cul-de-sac, solipsism, a forbidding book, self-refuting, Luddite, desultory schooling, hort-listed, about-face, a significant cor..., corollary, em dash, exonerate and 24 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for about-face.
Comments
No comments yet...
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.