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

This doesn’t deviate from what Smith has said before about her health struggles.

From Salon ● Sep. 12, 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

“These origin stories deviate sharply” from the “logocentric” creation stories of Judeo-Christian origin, writes Maria Tatar in “Arachnomania: Spiders and the Cultural Work They Do for Us.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026

Active management allows He and his three co-managers to deviate from risk parity if the team favors a particular asset class.

From Barron's ● May 13, 2026

“It’s been a long trip,” I said, trying to deviate the conversation away from the drowned man.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

“They really, really, really hate anyone that deviates from the norm,” he said in a 2021 podcast.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

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

For both her and her audience, a woman who deviates even slightly — such as by marrying a much-younger man — simply can’t exist.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2025

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

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

As if to signal this iteration hasn’t completely deviated from its roots, in the show’s opening moments, Deborah Wayne coolly flicks the iconic flip-up frames made famous by Hardison’s Dwayne.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

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

This week's exchange of strikes was sparked after Iran was accused of targeting three vessels it said had deviated from its approved route.

From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026

At some point I must have deviated from the path—but who knows?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

Breathing difficult since childhood due to recurrent throat infections and deviated septum in patient’s nose.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

But the new practitioners of the FDE strategy are deviating fundamentally from Palantir’s original design in a way that makes them unlikely to achieve the same success, people familiar with Palantir’s FDE approach say.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 4, 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

That night, Roberts removed Ohtani from his no-hit bid because, as he put it after the game, he didn’t feel comfortable deviating from the superstar’s prescripted pitching plan.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2025

As if Frederick understands already that both have been assigned to their specific courses, that there is no deviating now.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

Related Words

• depart
• differ
• diverge
• vary
• veer