diverting
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
- divertingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of diverting
Explanation
Something that's diverting is a pleasant distraction. A movie on a long bus ride — even a bad movie — is diverting. The adjective diverting describes anything that grabs your attention, especially if it's entertaining and distracts from something less interesting. Spending time with a friend can be diverting when you're waiting to hear important news or get the results of a big test, and a good, diverting book is the perfect thing to take on a boring train commute. Diverting stems from the verb divert, or "distract," from its Latin root, divertere, "to turn in different directions."
Vocabulary lists containing diverting
A Wrinkle in Time
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12 More Interesting Ways to Say "interesting"
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A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
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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.
As it currently stands, road use fees fall short of fully funding roadway systems in most states already, and governments are currently diverting funds from other sources.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026
“Dog Day Afternoon” makes for a largely diverting evening, but like many if not most stage versions of beloved films it never entirely succeeds at laying to rest the ghosts of its cinematic past.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026
Super Micro Computer co-founder and two others were charged with illegally diverting US-assembled servers to China.
From Barron's • Mar. 20, 2026
The two allegedly sent goods from the US to shipping firms in Malaysia and Singapore between 2022 and 2025, before diverting them to companies based in Hong Kong and mainland China.
From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026
And by catching and circumventing threatening behavior early, there was a good chance of diverting those students toward a more positive path.
From "Time Bomb" by Joelle Charbonneau
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.
