tornar

to turn

verb tohr-NAHR Rare

Origin: Latin tornare (to turn on a lathe).

Also means

to return, to become

Usage Note

Tornar is a literary and somewhat archaic verb. Its most common surviving use is in the reflexive tornarse + adjective, meaning 'to turn/become' (el cielo se tornó gris, 'the sky turned grey'), where it functions like ponerse or volverse. The non-reflexive tornar a + infinitive means 'to do something again' (tornó a llamar, 'he called again'), a construction now largely displaced by volver a.

Examples

"El ambiente se tornó tenso de repente."

Natural Translation

The atmosphere suddenly turned tense.

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