divergent
Americanadjective
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diverging; differing; deviating.
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pertaining to or causing divergence.
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(of a mathematical expression) having no finite limits.
adjective
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diverging or causing divergence
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(of opinions, interests, etc) different
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maths (of a series) having no limit; not convergent
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botany (of plant organs) farther apart at their tops than at their bases
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
Explanation
Something divergent is moving away from what is expected. Two divergent paths are moving in opposite directions — away from each other. Things that are divergent are diverging — moving away from a path or a standard. A teacher who comes to work in a clown outfit is being divergent; a clown who comes to work in a business suit is also being divergent. A stream is divergent if it is moving in the opposite direction of a river. A politician who is divergent might leave his political party. Divergent people and things are changing course — moving off the beaten path.
Vocabulary lists containing divergent
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Divergent
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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.
Uncertainty, divergent sector returns and high index concentration make active investment management more valuable.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 22, 2026
"With the rise of wearables and long-term tracking in humans, I'm excited to see whether the same principles -- early predictors, staged aging, divergent trajectories -- hold true in people."
From Science Daily • Mar. 26, 2026
Asked on NBC about Trump’s divergent sentiments, Bessent said, “It’s not mutually exclusive.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026
But in terms of their overall quality, the two films couldn’t be more divergent.
From Salon • Mar. 22, 2026
Different populations had widely divergent genotypes, and these diverse genetic types coexisted and even overlapped in the wild.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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.
