change the subject

Idioms  

1. Deliberately talk about another topic, as in If someone asks you an embarrassing question, just change the subject. This term uses subject in the sense of “a topic of conversation,” a usage dating from the late 1500s.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

change the subject

“When leaders who are supposed to be allies go quiet or change the subject, it doesn’t feel theoretical. It feels like we are being left behind because we are being left behind.”

From Salon ● Apr. 5, 2026

Suddenly the moderator intervenes to change the subject.

From BBC ● Dec. 19, 2025

“I saw you leave and then I heard you came back,” Morgan prodded, leading Killer Mike to gently change the subject.

From New York Times ● Feb. 5, 2024

I tried to change the subject to something more mutually personal, such as how we like to spend our Saturdays, to avoid discussing if Judas really wasn’t such a bad guy after all.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2023

Ben tried to gracefully change the subject, but we both knew I'd been exposed.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi