upturned

IPA/ˌʌpˈtɜːnd/
IPA/ˌʌpˈtɜːrnd/

upturned — adjective

  • upturnedpositive
  • more upturnedcomparative
  • most upturnedsuperlative

1. positioned with the tip or front pointing upward, or turned over so that what wa

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

positioned with the tip or front pointing upward, or turned over so that what was underneath is now on top

Example

Amani lifted her upturned face to the warm morning sun.

upturned face — pointing upward

After the storm, the fishermen found an upturned boat on the shore.

upturned boat — turned over

Common collocations
  • upturned face
  • upturned palm
  • upturned boat
  • upturned cup
  • upturned nose
  • upturned collar
Synonyms
  • inverted

    more formal and technical; often used in scientific or mathematical contexts

  • upside down

    more common in everyday speech; can follow a linking verb ('the boat was upside down')

  • reversed

    implies front-to-back or order reversal, not necessarily vertical flipping

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

upturned + noun

Usage Note

This adjective is used before the noun it describes rather than after a linking verb; you would not normally say 'the cup is upturned' to describe its position — instead, say 'the cup is upside down' or 'the cup is turned over'.

Common Mistakes

She upturned the bowl to drain the water.
She turned the bowl upside down to drain the water.
'upturned' is an adjective describing a final position, not a verb; use 'turn upside down' or 'flip over' for the action.
The cup was upturned on the table.
An upturned cup sat on the table.
'upturned' sounds unnatural after a linking verb; use it directly before the noun.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

"Upturned" describes something that points upward or has been flipped so the bottom is on top. "Upside down" is more conversational and strongly suggests the top is at the bottom, often with a comical or wrong feeling (e.g., "He held the map upside down by mistake"). "Inverted" is more formal and technical, appearing in contexts like mathematics, photography, or science (e.g., "an inverted image on the camera sensor"). Use "upturned" for body parts and physical objects whose orientation is deliberately or naturally upward; use "upside down" for a complete inversion that feels noticeable or mistaken; use "inverted" for formal or technical descriptions.

inverted ↗upside downupturned ↗

Common collocations

Adverbs

  • slightly upturned
  • oddly upturned
  • permanently upturned

Prepositions

  • upturned at the edges
  • upturned towards the sky

Etymology

Old EnglishLatinFrenchEnglish

Formed in English by combining the prefix 'up-' (from Old English 'up, uppe', meaning 'upward, aloft') with 'turned', the past participle of 'turn'. The verb 'turn' comes from Old English 'turnian' and Old French 'torner', both from Latin 'tornare' ('to turn on a lathe, to round off'), which was borrowed from Greek 'tornos' ('lathe, circular movement'). The participial adjective 'upturned' has been in use since at least the 16th century.