turned out
22
4.1
- idiom
:
bien vestido
- The woman was well turned out, with gilt-edged hair that curved up to her cheeks in two stiletto points.
- well-turned out
- immaculately turned out
- smartly turned out
Examples
-
The children turned out beautifully for the school concert, dressed in their best outfits.
-
The Danes and Swedes were all very well turned out.
Academic text (1993) -
- And look how you turned out.
-
Look how well I turned out.
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Look how well you turned out.
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And look how great you turned out.
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My son turned out just fine.
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Look how nice you turned out.
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Just look how you've turned out.
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I think you've turned out just fine.
Fiction book (2000)
Synonyms
82
2.7
Wearing special formal clothes for a party or event
29
2.4
Wearing neat, clean clothes that look smart, like a suit or nice shirt
19
4.6
Calm, confident, and elegant in public because of experience
3
4.6
Neat and attractive, often dressed or decorated for a special occasion
1
5.6
Wearing smart, attractive clothes so other people notice you
1
6.3
Dressed in smart, formal clothes for a special event
Wearing stylish, elegant clothes
Wearing very stylish formal clothes for an important event
To wear nice clothes for a special event
Wearing smart clothes for a special event
Looking fashionable and attractive in a way people admire
Antonyms
How Smart
Surface Forms
Morphology
turn + out
There is a partial hint of composition: 'turn' (make/change) plus 'out' (outwardly) can suggest making someone outwardly presented, but the specific conventional sense 'dressed smartly' is not directly predictable from the parts. This conventionalized usage ('turned out' = smartly dressed) is idiomatic enough that B1 learners who know the words would likely need exposure to learn the exact meaning.
Etymology
Turned out may come from the image of people being told to turn out and appear in public in their best clothes, like soldiers or guests lining up looking neat and ready. So, the phrase now means 'dressed nicely' or 'dressed in a neat, impressive way'.