Turn or intend to turn communist (7)
I believe the answer is:
meander
'turn' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'intend to turn communist' is the wordplay.
'intend' becomes 'mean' (meaning is a kind of intending).
'to turn' says the letters should be written backwards.
'communist' becomes 'red' (red can informally mean communist).
'red' written backwards gives 'der'.
'mean'+'der'='MEANDER'
'or' is the link.
(Other definitions for meander that I've seen before include "Indirectly move" , "an Indo-European river" , "Wander aimless" , "Red mane (anag) - roam aimlessly" , "turning thereon?" .)