More appropriate expression for To turn my back on.

[Lucidstorm]

Hello! I'd like to ask how to say that you turned your back on sth. (God, an idea, a mate). I'm seeking for something less slangy but more neutral. For instance, I don't want to say that I turned against GOD or a politician, I'm just saying that I no longer believe or support. But how?

 

[shawnee]

Try 'reject.' There are other words, but a sample sentence will help to find the most appropriate one.

 

[Lucidstorm]

Thx that's an exhaustive answer for me.

 

[buzhidao]

You can "leave behind", as in "I left that stuff behind me" (God, drugs/alcohol, bad friends) or.. I don't exactly know how to use this if you are trying to say what you are turning your back on, but you could definitely say it easier if you are just saying it about anything or if you are saying it about someone else. "He left all that stuff behind."

You can also say "Stopped believing in" something or "Stopped believing" someone who lies all the time, or you "gave up" something, but you can't really "give up" your friends, you can "give up on" your friends if they are into bad stuff and they won't change and you don't want to be a part of it... You can "give up on" God, or you can "give up" bad things like drugs/alcohol that you would "turn your back on."

I would like to give you more ways to say it about turning your back on people but I can't think of ways that don't have a meaning similar to "abandon" (To "turn your back on" someone means you could be abandoning them, if they need you, but if they are bad for you then you are doing something good.)

 

[Hermione Golightly]

I don't think "turn your back on" someone or something is "slangy". I'd say it's idiomatic when it is used metaphorically. It's a question of formality which as usual is determined by the origin of the words, French/Latin words being more formal than words of English/Germanic derivation.
'Reject' is not always the correct equivalent: 'renounce' is another possibility, depending on what you are talking about, in other words, the context.

Hermione

 

[buzhidao]

'renounce' is another possibility, depending on what you are talking about, in other words, the context.

Hermione

That's the last one I was trying to think of.

 

[Bobbum]

To shut something or someone out of your life is another possibility.

 

[Lucidstorm]

I also found something like this:to cast off or disown; refuse further association with; repudiate. All these words with a "strong" meaning, though. Renounce sounds good to me as it has a neutral meaning- I just lost interest in somebody/something, and I don't feel resentful of s.o.'s deeds. I appreciate your help very much.