by turns
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Billy Preston: That’s the Way God Planned It” is, by turns, heartbreaking and inspirational.
From Salon • Feb. 20, 2026
All weekend long, the headlines out of Minneapolis have captured a moment that is by turns alarming and bizarre.
From Slate • Jan. 20, 2026
As in Samuel Beckett’s tragicomic theater and novels, Tarr’s movies, by turns funny and heartbreaking, dignify human struggle with an uncommon tenacity of vision and empathy.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 8, 2026
In this account of life with a wild creature—a being by turns serene and frisky, trusting and standoffish—Ms. Dalton connects readers with the strangeness of the natural world.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 3, 2025
Over the next fortnight I moved back and forth between Qunu and Mqhekezweni, staying by turns with my mother and No- England, visiting and receiving friends and relatives.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
