diverge

American  

[dih-vurj, dahy-] / dɪˈvɜrdʒ, daɪ- /

verb (used without object)

• diverges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• diverged,
  past participle,  past
• diverging
  present participle

1. 

   to move, lie, or extend in different directions from a common point; branch off.

   Synonyms:

   fork, deviate, separate

2. to differ in opinion, character, form, etc.; deviate.

3. Mathematics. (of a sequence, series, etc.) to have no unique limit; to have infinity as a limit.

4. to turn aside or deviate, as from a path, practice, or plan.

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verb (used with object)

• diverges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• diverged,
  past participle,  past
• diverging
  present participle

1. to deflect or turn aside.

diverge British  

/ daɪˈvɜːdʒ /

verb

1. to separate or cause to separate and go in different directions from a point

2. (intr) to be at variance; differ

   our opinions diverge

3. (intr) to deviate from a prescribed course

4. (intr) maths (of a series or sequence) to have no limit

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Synonym Usage

See deviate.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nondiverging
  adjective
• undiverging
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• diverging
  present
• diverged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• diverge
  simple
• diverges
  simple
• have diverged
  perfect
• has diverged
  perfect
• am diverging
  progressive
• are diverging
  progressive
• is diverging
  progressive
• have been diverging
  perfect progressive
• has been diverging
  perfect progressive

Past

• diverged
  simple
• had diverged
  perfect
• was diverging
  progressive
• were diverging
  progressive
• had been diverging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will diverge
  simple
• will have diverged
  perfect
• will be diverging
  progressive
• will have been diverging
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

diverge diverges diverged diverging

As chromosome mixing accumulates over time, lineages continue to diverge.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026

Prices for, say, haircuts or hotels can diverge significantly because they can’t be shipped to another location.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

The dispersion index rises when investors’ expectations for how certain individual stocks will move begins to diverge with the S&P 500.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 16, 2026

But as they mature their lives diverge, in part because Lenù’s parents can afford to keep her in school and Lila’s cannot.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

So I diverge a little from the law.

From "Every Day" by David Levithan

Here, “Maddie’s Secret” fully diverges from its semi-parodic path, following Maddie to treatment, which, like many people who end up in mandatory care facilities, she doesn’t take seriously, believing she knows her body best.

From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026

The Bank of England’s decision aligns with the Federal Reserve but diverges from the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan.

From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026

But here is where the new theology diverges most sharply from the old.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026

Norton, the showrunner of Netflix’s “Finding Her Edge,” said much of that show’s plot diverges from Jennifer Iacopelli’s novel.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2026

Our cruising billet is about 150 miles south-west of the Scillys, at the focal point where trade for Liverpool and Bristol and the up-channel trade diverges.

From The Diary of a U-boat Commander With an Introduction and Explanatory Notes by Etienne by Sir Stephen King-Hall

UC admissions data for fall 2026 show a record number of Californians were admitted, even as acceptance rates diverged sharply between its most and least selective campuses.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

The researchers also noted that jellyfish, which diverged from humans about 600 to 700 million years ago, possess two nervous systems positioned at different ends of their bodies.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026

For many months, the Magnificent Seven diverged as different narratives drove share prices.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

Some construction is paused at a Midtown building being converted to about 600 apartments after activity diverged from approved design plans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

What makes the Maori-Moriori collision grimly illuminating is that both groups had diverged from a common origin less than a millennium earlier.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

"China's economy continues to show diverging signals, as consumption and investment remain weak while industrial production maintains the momentum," Zhiwei Zhang, President and Chief Economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, wrote in an analyst note.

From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026

But as the artificial-intelligence trade progresses, these megacap tech stocks are increasingly diverging in performance.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

Could two of California’s biggest cities be diverging?

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

For investors, this is a reminder of two basic principles: You can’t judge a fund by its name alone, and diverging even slightly from the broadest exposure to stocks can give you startlingly different results.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

The Line isn’t a single line but many, diverging and intersecting.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

Related Words

• deviate
• differ
• disagree
• dissent
• stray
• vary