volte-face

[ volt-fahs, vohlt-; French vawltuh-fas ]

/ vɒltˈfɑs, voʊlt-; French vɔltəˈfas /

a turnabout, especially a reversal of opinion or policy.

Origin of volte-face

1810–20; < French < Italian voltafaccia, equivalent to volta turn (see volt²) + faccia face

It leaves out only the actual reason for her abrupt, 11th-hour volte-face.

How Hillary's Feeling About Caroline |Christopher Buckley |January 24, 2009 |DAILY BEAST
It was the same as that which he had for Hincks's volte-face. '

The Tribune of Nova Scotia |W. L. (William Lawson) Grant
We have had in France an example of volte-face in taste which I confess has left me gasping.

Some Diversions of a Man of Letters |Edmund William Gosse
These four factors coalesced during 1948 and led to a reassessment of policy and, finally, to a volte-face.

Integration of the Armed Forces, 1940-1965 |Morris J. MacGregor, Jr.

What will justify such a volte-face and with what excuse can he repudiate the principles with which he justified his takeover?

The Origins of Contemporary France, Volume 4 (of 6) |Hippolyte A. Taine
But Russia's betrayal is not sufficient to account for the Serbian volte-face.

After the Rain |Sam Vaknin

volte-face

/ (ˈvɒltˈfɑːs) /

a reversal, as in opinion or policy

a change of position so as to look, lie, etc, in the opposite direction

C19: from French, from Italian volta-faccia, from volta a turn + faccia face