divergent

[ dih-vur-juhnt, dahy- ]

adjective

1. diverging; differing; deviating.
2. pertaining to or causing divergence.
3. (of a mathematical expression) having no finite limits.

divergent

/ daɪˈvɜːdʒənt /

adjective

1. diverging or causing divergence
2. (of opinions, interests, etc) different
3. maths (of a series) having no limit; not convergent
4. botany (of plant organs) farther apart at their tops than at their bases

Usage

The use of divergent to mean different as in they hold widely divergent views is considered by some people to be incorrect

Derived Forms

• diˈvergently, adverb

Other Words From

• di·vergent·ly adverb
• nondi·vergent adjective
• nondi·vergent·ly adverb
• undi·vergent adjective
• undi·vergent·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of divergent¹

First recorded in 1690–1700, divergent is from the Medieval Latin word dīvergent- (stem of dīvergēns, present participle of dīvergere ). See diverge, -ent

Example Sentences

Those two divergent developments — his two-pick, 12-of-27 performance against Northwestern in the Big Ten championship game and Friday night’s masterpiece — were related.

From Washington Post

Your thoughts can be absolutely right on, but your practices can be completely divergent.

From Nautilus

Over time, increasingly complex regulatory issues and divergent ideologies will create either separate platforms, or platforms that ostensibly have the same name but deliver fundamentally different user experiences in different geographies.

From MIT Technology Review

Tensions between Washington and Idaho over their divergent responses to the pandemic escalated in October.

From ProPublica

The three sectors often had wildly divergent reasons for engaging.

From Fortune

In the Divergent series, factions are at war with each other.

From The Daily Beast

Before Divergent, before The Hunger Games, there was The Giver.

From The Daily Beast

So during my last hiatus, I really wanted to do a movie, and Divergent came along, so I did it.

From The Daily Beast

Most interesting, Goldblatt explicates the role of soccer in various divergent cultures.

From The Daily Beast

We can entertain these divergent visions of the future because same-sex marriage was really a campaign, not a movement.

From The Daily Beast

We shall have here two divergent lines of approach within parallel fields.

From Project Gutenberg

This doctrine has been followed, and is still followed, by the majority of men; it is the source of divergent beliefs and acts.

From Project Gutenberg

Opinions as to the wisdom of giving such manuals to penitents are certainly very divergent.

From Project Gutenberg

The divergent interests of the farming, free trade West and of the manufacturing, protectionist East made for friction.

From Project Gutenberg

The two creeds represent two absolutely divergent sections of humanity.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• atypical
• conflicting
• contradictory
• contrary
• different
• disparate
• dissimilar
• diverse
• various