1.
to turn away, to avert
To turn one's face, eyes, or body away from something, typically to avoid looking at or facing something unpleasant, embarrassing, or frightening.
彼女は顔を背けた。
She turned her face away.
現実から目を背けてはいけない。
You must not avert your eyes from reality.
あまりの惨状に、思わず目を背けてしまった。
The scene was so terrible that I couldn't help but look away.
USAGE:
背ける is transitive — the thing turned away (face, eyes, body) takes を. The most common pattern is 目を背ける (to avert one's eyes) or 顔を背ける (to turn one's face away).
Distinguish from 背く (intransitive, godan verb), which means "to go against" or "to betray" (e.g., 命令に背く, to defy an order). 背ける is the ichidan transitive verb meaning to physically turn away.
Conjugation: ichidan verb (背けない / 背けます / 背けて).
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 目を背ける: to avert one's eyes, to look away
- 顔を背ける: to turn one's face away
- 現実から目を背ける: to turn a blind eye to reality