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
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Examples
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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.
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It's an about-face from the recession, when Saks and its peers aggressively broadened their products to add more entry-level prices.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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