What does upturning mean?
Upturning is the present participle and gerund of upturn, a verb meaning to turn or cause something to turn upward. In a physical description, it can refer to a blade, muzzle, wheel, or other object changing orientation, and a gerund construction such as “the upturning of the nose” names the action. In literary contexts, an upturned or upturning nose can suggest disdain, hauteur, or amusement. The form also appears in progressive constructions: “She was upturning the soil.” The related noun upturn is much more common when discussing an improvement in economic conditions, where the standard terms are upturn, upswing, or recovery. Upturning itself does not normally function as the noun for that economic change. The word is understandable in both British and American English and is most natural when the upward movement is visible or deliberately described rather than left to context.
verb (present participle and gerund)To turn or cause something to turn upward. As a gerund or attributive participle, it can denote the upward-turning action or something oriented upward.
- Turning or causing something to turn upward; in attributive or gerund use, denoting the upward-turning action or something oriented upward.
"She was upturning the soil with a spade when the rain began."
"The fox, upturning its muzzle, caught the scent."
"Upturning the soil with a spade, she prepared a patch for seeds."
Upturning gives a nose a lift—and, in literary English, a lift of disdain.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does upturning come from?
Upturning was formed in English by adding the present-participle suffix -ing to upturn, itself a transparent compound of up and turn. The first element, up, is native English; the second belongs to the established English verb turn, which also has ancestry in Old French torner, ultimately Latin tornare, “to turn.” Related forms include turn, turned, and turning, while upward shares the native English up- element.
Related word forms
How upturning is actually used
The form is standard in British and American English. It is most natural in physical descriptions, progressive constructions, or literary phrases involving a raised or disdainful nose. The related noun upturn, rather than upturning, is normally used for an economic recovery.
Easily confused with upturning
Upturned is the usual participial adjective, as in “an upturned nose,” whereas upturning is the present participle or gerund of upturn.