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

Yet there emerges a quality by turns bruising and sweet in the depiction of this relationship, Mr. Melling fragile, devoted and desperate for affection until he explodes, Mr. Skarsgård reservedly beautiful but never blank.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 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

Exhausted by her lack of sleep, shivering from the cold that stole into the tower cell each night, feverish and famished by turns, Cersei came at last to know she must confess.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin