to turn on
26
3.2
- phrasal verb
- /tɜrn ɑn/
:
desplegar
- He'd learned real fast how to turn on his special smile and get what he wanted out of people.
Examples
-
When she saw the beautiful sunset, it felt like someone had turned on the colors of the sky.
-
Damn him, he can turn on the charm like a light.
Fiction book (2001) -
And it was like someone turned on the lights in that moment.
-
One that you can turn on and turn off.
-
All right, now let's see what it's doing and turn it on now.
-
But as a novel attempt to tackle big questions, it is sure to turn on light bulbs.
Academic text (2014) -
"They'll call later," she said, turning on the television to a soap opera she hated to watch.
Fiction book (2001) -
He's a good-looking guy and can turn on the charm.
Fiction book (1991) -
The magician waved his wand and turned on a spectacular display of lights and sound.
-
After weeks of practice, he finally turned on his singing ability at the talent show.
Antonyms
How Strong
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to depend on' is not directly derivable from the literal senses 'turn' (to change) and 'on' (active/powered), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would likely not predict this sense. There is a loose, somewhat metaphorical link (turn + on/upon → be determined by), but the particle usage is idiomatic and less frequent, making the expression only partially transparent.
Etymology
Turn on here is like flipping a switch to start showing a quality, as if you can turn your charm or tears on when you need them. That's why it means 'to produce or display a quality suddenly or on purpose'.