deflect

[ dih-flekt ]

/ dɪˈflɛkt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR deflect ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with or without object)

to bend or turn aside; turn from a true course or straight line; swerve.

Nearby words

deflagrate, deflate, deflation, deflationary gap, deflationary spiral, deflect, deflected, deflecting force, deflection, deflection yoke, deflective

Origin of deflect

1545–55; < Latin dēflectere to bend down, turn aside, equivalent to dē- de- + flectere to bend, turn

Related forms

de·flect·a·ble, adjectivede·flec·tor, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for deflect

According to Crawford, Alvarez is “focusing her entire effort publicly on Protess” to deflect attention.
Wrongly Imprisoned for 15 Years Thanks to an Innocence Project|Jacob Siegel|November 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Yet, Obama might take some of these military actions anyway just to deflect political pressures at home.
A Winning Strategy for Iraq and Syria|Leslie H. Gelb|June 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But when I pulled her toward me to comfort her and tell her that I was sorry, she instinctively flexed her muscles to deflect me.
When An Adopted Child Won’t Attach|Tina Traster|May 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Creationists need a Muslim hero, and American right-wingers need a “good” Muslim with whom to deflect accusations of Islamophobia.
The Hedonistic, Possibly Holocaust-Denying Sect That’s Hoodwinking Republican Congressmen|Jay Michaelson|April 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The impulse would have done nothing to deflect a bullet, which would likely have torn through his arm and into him.
Thank God the Murrysville School Attack Wasn’t Guns|Michael Daly|April 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And the way he can touch a bat with his mitt and deflect it on the third strike without being detected by the umpire is wonderful.
Rival Pitchers of Oakdale|Morgan Scott
A plan to invade England also helped to deflect his mind from establishing an outpost of his empire upon our continent.
A Straight Deal|Owen Wister
It would sweep any man or men aside like driftwood if they stood in its way or attempted to deflect it.
The New York Stock Exchange and Public Opinion|Otto Hermann Kahn
Lockley knew that sharp points, when charged electrically, make tiny jets of ionized air which will deflect a candle flame.
Operation Terror|William Fitzgerald Jenkins
All currents of electricity have encircling currents of magnetism, and all deflect the magnetic needle.
The Philosophy of the Weather|Thomas Belden Butler

British Dictionary definitions for deflect

deflect

/ (dɪˈflɛkt) /

verb

to turn or cause to turn aside from a course; swerve

Derived Forms

deflector, noun

Word Origin for deflect

C17: from Latin dēflectere, from flectere to bend

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012