look the other way
Pretend not noticing
To look the other way is to deliberately ignore wrongdoing or something unpleasant.
The phrase suggests turning one's gaze aside rather than confronting what's visible: The guards looked the other way while prisoners were beaten.
It often implies complicity—choosing not to see makes you partly responsible for what continues unseen.
- turn a blind eyeDeliberately ignore something obvious
- connivanceWillful blindness to wrongdoing
- pass overNeglect or bypass
- ignoreRefuse to notice
- condoneAccept without protest
see no evil · close your eyes · enabling · tolerate · indifference · live with · complicity · plausible deniability · disregard · cover-up · make light of · tacit approval · pass by · silence · willful blindness · play dumb · slight · brook
- cover-upscover up, conceal, hush up, suppress, whitewash
- secrecysecrecy, secret, secrets, confidential, classified
- doing nothingdo nothing, stand still, sit tight, stay put, keep still
look the other wayconfront
Face squarely, address directly
address · engage · pay attention · take notice · scrutinize
look the other wayhold accountable
Require someone to justify actions
take responsibility · call out · speak up · blow the whistle · take a stand
look, other, looks, looking, outlook, lookout, looked, onlooker, overlook