deviate

American  

[dee-vee-eyt, 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.

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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

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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

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

Department of Justice sued RealPage, a Texas-based software company, alleging it gathered private data from landlords to set rent prices and make it difficult for property managers to deviate from these price recommendations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

United are not unwilling to talk but are determined not to deviate from a pre-stated desire to keep their wage bill under control.

From BBC ● May 8, 2026

They become unstable and have a tendency to unsettle the mood because they deviate from comfortable convention, seeking relationships with unfamiliar chords.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

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

Just as “The Complex” deviates from his first two novels, “Family Planning” and “The Association of Small Bombs” Mahajan’s career trajectory is also a deviation from that of a traditional novelist.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 23, 2026

ChatGPT won’t follow these instructions consistently, but at least when it deviates, you can get it back on track quickly with a reminder like, “Hey, you’re supposed to give me questions, not answers.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025

She rarely deviates from her original pattern, her hymn of particulars.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

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

While flying solo, Liu deviated from his designated airspace and dropped out of contact with the airport before crashing into Citic Tower.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

The effect on sentiment, the researchers find, comes not just from higher prices, but from how far and how often conditions have deviated from the relative stability that defined the prepandemic period.

From Barron's ● May 27, 2026

All throughout, NewsNation deviated away from a focus on local newscasts, instead recruiting media celebrities who’d lost their jobs at other networks: CNN’s Chris Cillizza, Fox News’ Chris Stirewalt, Newsmax’s Sean Spicer.

From Slate ● Apr. 21, 2026

The person should have known that their conduct was wrong and didn’t just deviate from what was right, but substantially deviated.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

Meanwhile, Klarna will be deviating from its traditional pay-in-four system that stretches a purchase over six weeks.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026

Punjab police said there was "absolutely no justification for deviating from our established protocols" and that it was conducting a "thorough and impartial investigation".

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026

He believes the asset manager erred in deviating from the contractual terms of the fund agreements.

From Barron's ● Mar. 4, 2026

When Beijing released the blueprint for its next five-year plan earlier this month, it made clear it has little intention of deviating from a path that has, in Beijing’s eyes, worked exceptionally well.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2025

After all, Baird thought, if the technology was new, was it fair to make the case that Reggie was grossly deviating from a standard of care, if the standard of care wasn’t clear?

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

Related Words

• depart
• differ
• diverge
• vary
• veer