deflect
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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deflects,
present (3rd person singular)
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deflected,
past participle, past
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deflecting
present participle
verb
Usage
What does deflect mean? To deflect something is to redirect it—to cause it to move in a direction that’s different from the course it had been on, as in The goalie was able to deflect the ball away from the goal. Deflect can also be used in a passive way meaning for something to have its course changed, as in The ball deflected after hitting the goalie’s outstretched hand. Deflect can also be used in a figurative way meaning to do something to avoid questioning or scrutiny, as in When asked about the scandal, the senator deflected by giving a vague answer and changing the subject. The act or process of deflecting is deflection, which can be used for both the literal and figurative senses of deflect (and more technical uses). Example: The meteor is headed straight for Earth—our only chance is to deflect it using the space laser!
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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deflectsimple
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deflectssimple
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have deflectedperfect
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has deflectedperfect
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am deflectingprogressive
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are deflectingprogressive
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is deflectingprogressive
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have been deflectingperfect progressive
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has been deflectingperfect progressive
Past
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deflectedsimple
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had deflectedperfect
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was deflectingprogressive
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were deflectingprogressive
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had been deflectingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of deflect
1545–55; < Latin dēflectere to bend down, turn aside, equivalent to dē- de- + flectere to bend, turn
Explanation
The verb deflect describes blocking something or changing its course. Hockey goalies deflect the flying puck with their sticks or blockers, making it travel in a different direction, preferably to a teammate's stick. In a cartoon, a mouse might ask an approaching cat, "Hey, what's that up in the sky?" When the cat looks up, the mouse runs away, successful in his attempt to deflect the cat's attention. When you deflect, you throw someone or something off course, often by using a distraction. Another way to deflect something — such as criticism — is to blame someone else. Eventually the truth, like the cat who quickly sees there's nothing unusual up in the sky, catches up with those who deflect.
Vocabulary lists containing deflect
30 GRE Words Beginning with "D"
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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The Sea of Monsters
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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.
See Examples For:
We understand Paul’s fatal bravado in tenor Michael Kuhn’s jaunty recounting of a race with a rabbit that ends with him crashing his car—it’s a performance designed to deflect Norman’s offer of help.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
Los Palos Street Operating LLC, a subsidiary of Altus Power, responded to the filing on Thursday, saying it’s Lineage’s attempt to deflect responsibility.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
Great entrepreneurs get an inbound flow of information every minute of the day and deflect the noise.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
Of course, so much of what’s otherwise known points a finger directly back at Taylor Farms, false-positive atom splitting notwithstanding, and there’s only so much the company can do to deflect.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
Segregation laws were proposed as part of a deliberate and strategic effort to deflect anger and hostility that had been brewing against the white elite away from them and toward African Americans.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
At best, blaming technology that helps property managers deflects from the real issue.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
But the next time one of these entertainers deflects criticism from behind a free speech shield, we should remember what Dillon said about why he and the others accepted this tainted offer.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2025
India's Jasprit Bumrah takes the wicket of Ben Duckett after an inside edge deflects onto his middle stump to leave England on 126-2 in the first Test at Headingley.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2025
The planet’s rotation gives rise to the Coriolis effect, which deflects air flow and determines the direction of its swirling cyclones and bands.
From New York Times ● May 21, 2024
Haymitch takes a swipe with his knife but Peeta deflects it so easily it’s pathetic.
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
Jeffrey Maier, a 12-year-old Yankees fan, lunged over the fence and deflected the ball into the seats.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
After sophomore defensive back Sean Veritch snagged a deflected pass thrown by Bishop Amat quarterback Domenico Doran, the Lions drove to the Lancers’ 16-yard line.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
But Vance and Rubio have deflected speculation about their political futures.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
Unlucky Rashford's cross was deflected as he hit the bar from close range.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
The audience laughed, deep down, from the bottom up and, as suddenly as Malcolm had stirred it, so, skillfully and swiftly, he deflected it.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
The sequence started with Bosnian defender Stjepan Radeljic sliding in front of a Tillman pass, deflecting it forward toward Muharemovic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
I had only one sartorial concern at the time: deflecting male attention whenever possible.
From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2026
When they arrive, the planet's magnetic field acts as a shield, deflecting most of the charged particles.
From Barron's ● May 19, 2026
Would the ball deflecting off White's shin have caused VAR to stay out of this in the Premier League?
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026
I’d come to the table, garbed in heavy plate armor capable of deflecting my mother’s barbed and poisonous words.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
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.
