divergent

American  

[dih-vur-juhnt, dahy-] / dɪˈvɜr dʒənt, daɪ- /

adjective

1. diverging; differing; deviating.

2. pertaining to or causing divergence.

3. (of a mathematical expression) having no finite limits.

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divergent British  

/ daɪˈvɜːdʒənt /

adjective

1. diverging or causing divergence

2. (of opinions, interests, etc) different

3. maths (of a series) having no limit; not convergent

4. botany (of plant organs) farther apart at their tops than at their bases

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Usage

The use of divergent to mean different as in they hold widely divergent views is considered by some people to be incorrect

Other Word Forms

• divergently adverb
• nondivergent adjective
• nondivergently adverb
• undivergent adjective
• undivergently adverb

Etymology

Origin of divergent

First recorded in 1690–1700, divergent is from the Medieval Latin word dīvergent- (stem of dīvergēns, present participle of dīvergere ). See diverge, -ent

Example Sentences

If various “iterations” of Pangram produce such divergent results, why should anyone have confidence in the tool’s reliability?

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Revered producer and saxophonist Josh Johnson, guitarist Jeff Parker, bassist Anna Butterss and drummer Deantoni Parks also bring their considerable chops to the mix, evoking divergent moods while maintaining a signature exuberance throughout.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026

But in terms of their overall quality, the two films couldn’t be more divergent.

From Salon • Mar. 22, 2026

Some AI systems, including GPT-4, exceeded average human scores on tasks designed to measure divergent linguistic creativity.

From Science Daily • Jan. 25, 2026

And I didn’t know that the enthalpy decrease in a converging passage could be transformed into jet kinetic energy if a divergent passage was added.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

Related Words

• atypical
• conflicting
• contradictory
• contrary
• different
• disparate
• dissimilar
• diverse
• various