Adverb
One after the other; successively; alternating.
(obsolete) At intervals; from time to time.
Source: en.wiktionary.orgBeauty is composed of an eternal, invariable element whose quantity is extremely difficult to determine, and a relative element which might be, either by turns or all at once, period, fashion, moral, passion. Jean-Luc Godard
So, when a raging fever burns, We shift from side to side by turns And 't is a poor relief we gain To change the place, but keep the pain. Isaac Watts
Times go by turns and chances change by course, From foul to fair, from better hap to worse. Robert Southwell
I saw, in gradual vision through my tears, The sweet, sad years, the melancholy years, Those of my own life, who by turns had flung A shadow across me. Elizabeth Barrett Browning
It's been by turns frustrating and fascinating and wonderful beyond imagination. If what I suspect is true, it's one of the most important milestones in human history to acknowledge that we are not alone in the universe. Steven M. Greer
Live earnestly by turns without despair, Nor seek a home till home be every where! Margaret Fuller