turned

Turned is the past tense and past participle of the verb turn. It appears in many senses related to rotation, direction, or change of state. In simple statements it can describe an action that has already occurred, as in The wheel turned smoothly, or The key turned easily. It also shows up in perfect constructions: The door has turned a corner, The weather had turned before dawn. The verb turn has a broad range of meanings, including rotate, pivot, bend, or become something different (for example, milk turned sour).

Etymology and related forms: Turned comes from the verb turn, which originates in the Germanic family of languages. The base form turn is closely related to words in other Germanic languages that express rotating or changing direction. The participle form turned is widely used across English tenses and aspects, and it pairs with auxiliary verbs to indicate completed action or resulting state.

Adjectival and nominal uses: As an adjective, turned describes objects produced by turning on a lathe or finished by a turning process, such as turned wood, turned brass, or a turned spoon. It can also describe a state resulting from change, as in turned gray or turned into something else. In fixed phrases, it forms part of expressions like “turned out” or “turned into,” which signal the outcome of a change or a transformation.

Grammatical usage: Turned is compatible with many phrasal verbs—turn on, turn off, turn up, turn down, and turn away—often altering meaning. It participates in passive voice constructions (The wheel was turned) and in perfect tenses (has turned, had turned). Its versatility makes it a common form in both descriptive writing and everyday speech.