turn the other cheek
Accept without retaliating
Turn the other cheek means to respond to aggression or insult with patience rather than retaliation.
The phrase comes from Jesus's teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, where he instructed followers to offer the other cheek if struck on one.
It now applies broadly to any situation where someone chooses forbearance over revenge: When my coworker took credit for my idea, I just turned the other cheek.
The expression sometimes carries a suggestion of weakness or excessive passivity.
- forgiveCease to blame
- let it goCease fixating on something
- meeknessGentle, unassertive disposition
- nonresistanceRefusal to oppose force
- BeatitudesEight blessings from the Mount
blessed are the meek · pacifism · patience · bite your tongue · ahimsa · Sermon on the Mount · love your enemies · pardon · absolve · shalom · endurance · walk away · moral high ground · peacefulness · composure · nonviolent resistance · mildness · water off a duck's back
- Biblical ExpressionsGarden of Eden, David and Goliath, Good Samaritan, prodigal son, forbidden fruit
- moral sayingsgolden rule, do the right thing, honesty is the best policy, love thy neighbor, be kind
- Jesus' teachingsSermon on the Mount, beatitudes, Beatitudes, love your enemies, Lord's Prayer
- nonviolencenonviolence, pacifism, harmlessness, nonviolent, peaceful
- Scripture PhrasesJohn 3:16, Lord's Prayer, Our Father, Ten Commandments, Beatitudes
- Biblical ReferencesAdam and Eve, ark, forbidden fruit, Garden of Eden, Ten Commandments
turn the other cheekretaliate
Respond to injury alike
get even · vengeance · strike back · an eye for an eye · take revenge
turn the other cheekretributive justice
Punishment proportional to offense
blood feud · vendetta · honor killing · tooth for a tooth · an eye for an eye
turned, turning, turner, turners, other, others, otherwise, cheek, cheeks