diverge
Americanverb (used without object)
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to move, lie, or extend in different directions from a common point; branch off.
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to differ in opinion, character, form, etc.; deviate.
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Mathematics. (of a sequence, series, etc.) to have no unique limit; to have infinity as a limit.
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to turn aside or deviate, as from a path, practice, or plan.
verb (used with object)
verb
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to separate or cause to separate and go in different directions from a point
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(intr) to be at variance; differ
our opinions diverge
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(intr) to deviate from a prescribed course
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(intr) maths (of a series or sequence) to have no limit
Synonym Usage
See deviate.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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divergesimple
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divergessimple
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have divergedperfect
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has divergedperfect
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am divergingprogressive
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are divergingprogressive
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is divergingprogressive
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have been divergingperfect progressive
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has been divergingperfect progressive
Past
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divergedsimple
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had divergedperfect
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was divergingprogressive
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were divergingprogressive
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had been divergingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of diverge
First recorded in 1655–65; from Medieval Latin dīvergere, from Latin dī- di- 2 + vergere “to incline”
Explanation
When two roads diverge, they split and go in different directions. If your opinion diverges from mine, we do not agree. To diverge means to move apart or be separate. The poet, Robert Frost, wrote: "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -/ I took the one less traveled by / And that has made all the difference." The word diverge in the poem carries both the meaning of separating and of being apart from the main. As a poet, it was Frost's job to use words properly. Here he does not diverge from this role.
Vocabulary lists containing diverge
List 2
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Twelve Angry Men
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"The Road Not Taken"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Appeared in the June 20, 2026, print edition as 'Two Virginia Counties Diverge on AI Data Centers'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 19, 2026
And oh, the journey homeward, when the sun, Low-rounding to the west, in ruddy glow Sinks large, and all the amber-skirted clouds, His flaming retinue, with dark'ning glow Diverge!
From In The Yule-Log Glow, Book IV by Morris, Harrison S. (Harrison Smith)
Diverge, fine spokes of light, from the shape of my head, or anyone’s head, in thesunlit water!
From The Voice of Science in Nineteenth-Century Literature Representative Prose and Verse by Various
Diverge, fine spokes of light, from the shape of my head, or any one's head, in the sunlit water!
From Leaves of Grass by Whitman, Walt
Diverge, di-vėrj′, v.i. to incline or turn apart: to tend from a common point in different directions: to vary from the standard.—ns.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
