as in reversal
a changing from one policy or point of view to virtually its exact opposite
the novelist's unexpected volte-face from experimentalism to traditional narrative form
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Recent Examples of volte-face
This volte-face was not just about electoral politics.
—
Robert F. Worth,
The Atlantic,
17 Jan. 2026
The Kremlin has denied any such request was made, which tells you something about how Moscow views the optics of this diplomatic volte-face.
—
Bobby Ghosh,
Time,
22 Dec. 2025
Robert F. Worth,
The Atlantic,
17 Jan. 2026
The Kremlin has denied any such request was made, which tells you something about how Moscow views the optics of this diplomatic volte-face.
—
Bobby Ghosh,
Time,
22 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for volte-face
Noun
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Suffering a reversal of fortune, Watson Taylor turned out to be unable to pay for the commission and sold the work in 1821 through Phillips auction house.
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The market experienced a reversal session, with AI leaders and data center infrastructure buildout stocks falling while software and the hyperscalers rebounded.
Noun
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The about-face felt personal to former parks workers who spent their careers preserving artifacts that have now been deemed too radical for display.
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And last fall, the Solovievs did an about-face and declared that the pharmacy, which had been open since the 1920s, would no longer fill prescriptions — leaving the nearest drugstore a ferry ride away.
Cite this Entry
“Volte-face.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/volte-face. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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