I. -t(ə)|fäs noun
Etymology: French, from Italian voltafaccia, from volta turn + faccia face, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin facia — more at volt , face
: a change of front : a facing about : about-face , reversal
he performed a volte-face and attacked his former associates — S.F.Mason
a volte-face in American economic policy — Foreign Affairs
a last-minute volte-face against the spearhead of his own clan — the ultramodernists — Canadian Art
not that an instant volte-face took place … in politics, manners, and customs — R.A.Hall b. 1911
II. intransitive verb
: to perform a volte-face : face about