deviate

American  

[dee-vee-ayt, dee-vee-it] / ˈdi viˌeɪt, ˈdi vi ɪt /

verb (used without object)

• deviates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• deviated,
  past participle,  past
• deviating
  present participle

1. to turn aside, as from a route, way, course, etc.

   Synonyms:

   stray, wander, veer

2. to depart or swerve, as from a procedure, course of action, or acceptable norm.

3. to digress, as from a line of thought or reasoning.

---

verb (used with object)

• deviates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• deviated,
  past participle,  past
• deviating
  present participle

1. to cause to swerve; turn aside.

adjective

1. characterized by deviation or departure from an accepted norm or standard, as of behavior.

noun

1. a person or thing that departs from the accepted norm or standard.

2. a person whose sexual behavior departs from the norm in a way that is considered socially or morally unacceptable.

3. Statistics. a variable equal to the difference between a variate and some fixed value, often the mean.

deviate British  

verb

1. (usually intr) to differ or diverge or cause to differ or diverge, as in belief or thought

2. (usually intr) to turn aside or cause to turn aside; diverge or cause to diverge

3. (intr) psychol to depart from an accepted standard or convention

---

noun

1. another word for deviant

Synonym Usage

Deviate, digress, diverge, swerve imply turning or going aside from a path. To deviate is to turn or wander, often by slight degrees, from what is considered the most direct or desirable approach to a given physical, intellectual, or moral end: Fear caused him to deviate from the truth. To digress is primarily to wander from the main theme or topic in writing or speaking: Some authors digress to relate entertaining episodes. Two paths diverge when they proceed from a common point in such directions that the distance between them increases: The sides of an angle diverge from a common point. Their interests gradually diverged. To swerve is to make a sudden or sharp turn from a line or course: The car swerved to avoid striking a pedestrian.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• deviability
  noun
• deviator
  noun
• deviable
  adjective
• deviatory
  adjective
• nondeviating
  adjective
• undeviable
  adjective
• undeviated
  adjective
• undeviating
  adjective
• undeviatingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• deviating
  present
• deviated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• deviate
  simple
• deviates
  simple
• have deviated
  perfect
• has deviated
  perfect
• am deviating
  progressive
• are deviating
  progressive
• is deviating
  progressive
• have been deviating
  perfect progressive
• has been deviating
  perfect progressive

Past

• deviated
  simple
• had deviated
  perfect
• was deviating
  progressive
• were deviating
  progressive
• had been deviating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will deviate
  simple
• will have deviated
  perfect
• will be deviating
  progressive
• will have been deviating
  perfect progressive

---

Etymology

Origin of deviate

First recorded in 1625–35; from Late Latin dēviātus “turned from the road,” past participle of dēviāre “to stray, turn from the road,” from Latin dē- de- + vi(a) “road, way” + āre, infinitive verb suffix

---

Explanation

If something turns off course or is diverted, it deviates from the expected or the norm. Deviating from explicit recipe directions is never a good idea, unless you want inedible food or a kitchen fire. The verb deviate can refer to divergence from a predicted path or road ("the airplane's route deviated from the flight plan"), but it can also refer to a divergence from normal behavior or expectations. When women demanded the right to vote, their behavior was considered shocking and deviated from the expectations of the time.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

deviate deviates deviated deviating

These are ideas that have proved successful in modern football but Carrick's United deviate from this approach more than most.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

Whether this legal challenge will succeed depends in part on whether judges will continue to defer to the president on these particular levies, no matter how much they deviate from previous practice.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

“But she’s not a scat singer. She improvises more in the technique of the Baroque period, expanding and contracting phrases or adding trills that deviate from the melody.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026

Tehran insists on controlling the waterway, saying it will charge fees for passage and threatening to hit vessels that deviate from its authorised route.

From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026

“They were a gift,” I said, trying not to deviate too far from the original lie I’d told the border patrol agent early that morning.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

Periods where inflation deviates more from target than unemployment are associated with tightening monetary policy.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 19, 2026

In doing so, the measurement deviates from lived experience, especially for cash-strapped Americans who are most exposed by these price changes.

From Slate ● Apr. 24, 2026

"It had been assumed that faults follow the leading edge of the subducting slab, but this example deviates from that," Materna said.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 17, 2026

To evaluate a dog’s alterations, said Packer, consider how much it deviates from the original archetype: the wolf.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025

He never deviates or lets himself be swayed by the voices outside the door, begging him to open up before a disaster occurs.

From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank

As if to signal this iteration hasn’t completely deviated from its roots, in the show’s opening moments, Deborah Wayne coolly flicks the iconic flip-up frames made famous by Hardison’s Dwayne.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

Tusk said Polish air defence would have shot down the missile if it had deviated from its trajectory and headed toward populated areas.

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

They often must provide evidence that the government willfully violated a policy or otherwise deviated from its charge — that is, did something irregular — to overcome the standard.

From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026

Despite heavy bleeding and a deviated septum, Davies continued playing.

From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2026

Flight over Channel w/out incident although deviated from planned course over Caen to avoid antiaircraft fire.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

But the deal broke down shortly afterward when Iran fired on commercial ships in Hormuz that it accused of deviating from its approved route through the waterway.

From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026

It also accused the convoy of deviating from the route co-ordinated with the military.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

But the new practitioners of the FDE strategy are deviating fundamentally from Palantir’s original design in a way that makes them unlikely to achieve the same success, people familiar with Palantir’s FDE approach say.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 4, 2026

According to the statements, the Emirates SkyCargo flight landed on the north runway of Hong Kong International Airport before deviating and pitching into the sea.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2025

She walked a straight line to the ocean, for the pools had frozen and she could follow her compass without deviating.

From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• depart
• differ
• diverge
• vary
• veer

---