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Some dictionaries say "show up" and "turn up" are synonym, but according to my study:

show up: is used to mean to arrive when people are waiting for you expectedly.

  • Seth showed up, apologising for being late.

turn up: is used to mean to arrive in a way that is unexpected

She turned up at my house late one night.

So, it is more meaningful to say "She just turned up unannounced on my doorstep." than "She just showed up unannounced on my doorstep."

But a woman in the film "Upgraded 2024." said "you can't just showed up unannounced".

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    You missed two words: show up: informal to arrive, especially at the place where someone is waiting for you turn up: to arrive or appear somewhere, usually unexpectedly or in a way that was not planned Those words mean that the meanings given are for some, but not all usages. 'Show up' and 'turn up' can both mean to arrive expectedly or unexpectedly.
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented May 3 at 14:38
  • In the UK we often say a person, bus, train (etc) 'didn't turn up' somewhere when it was expected that they would, and also that they 'showed up' unexpectedly.
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented May 3 at 17:26

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As with a lot of synonyms, the meaning of the words just needs to be close enough to not be easily misunderstood. In that sense, "turn up" and "show up" are certainly synonyms and can be used interchangeably. You're unlikely to run into a situation where you sound awkward or confusing because you chose one option over the other.

You're right though, that there is an implied usage for "turn up" more commonly being used for unexpected arrivals, but this isn't a hard usage requirement. So I wouldn't worry about which is more meaningful, there isn't enough of a difference to matter.

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