turn back

Verb

• turn inside out or upside down

• hold back, as of a danger or an enemy; check the expansion or influence of
  • Arrest the downward trend
    
  • Check the growth of communism in South East Asia
    
  • Contain the rebel movement
    
  • Turn back the tide of communism
    

• force to go away; used both with concrete and metaphoric meanings
  • Drive away potential burglars
    
  • drive away bad thoughts
    
  • dispel doubts
    
  • The supermarket had to turn back many disappointed customers
    

• go back to a previous state
  • We reverted to the old rules
    

• retrace one's course
  • The hikers got into a storm and had to turn back
    

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  invert , reverse , check , arrest , stop , contain , hold back , chase away , drive out , drive away , dispel , drive off , run off , revert , return , retrovert , regress , backtrack , double back