Turn away from state capital in Tennessee (5)
I believe the answer is:
avert
'turn away from' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'state capital in tennessee' is the wordplay.
'state' becomes 'aver' (both can mean to declare).
'capital in' suggests taking the first letters.
The initial letter of 'tennessee' is 't'.
'aver'+'t'='AVERT'
(Other definitions for avert that I've seen before include "With prominent incisors" , "Head off" , "Parry" , "Stave off" , "Avoid" .)