as in to turn
to change the course or direction of (something)
the wind deflected the Frisbee just as I was about to lunge for it
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of deflect
Or damn near the entire overtime period, as Oettinger fended off shot after shot, the 11th one finally getting past as Matt Boldy won a puck battle in the corner, went straight to the top of the blue paint, and deflected in a Jared Spurgeon shot for the game-winner.
—
Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2026
Asked at the start of the seventh round if the Patriots had spoken with Vrabel, vice president of player personnel Ryan Cowden deflected saying the team wanted to keep the specifics of those interactions in-house.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 26 Apr. 2026
Minnesota pulled even when Brock Faber’s shot from the blue line hit Dallas defender Miro Heiskanen and deflected past the goalie.
—Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 26 Apr. 2026
Thomas was a second-team All-ACC selection, and he was named the Fiesta Bowl defensive MVP after making five tackles and deflecting two passes.
—Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 25 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for deflect
Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2026
Asked at the start of the seventh round if the Patriots had spoken with Vrabel, vice president of player personnel Ryan Cowden deflected saying the team wanted to keep the specifics of those interactions in-house.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 26 Apr. 2026
Minnesota pulled even when Brock Faber’s shot from the blue line hit Dallas defender Miro Heiskanen and deflected past the goalie.
—Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 26 Apr. 2026
Thomas was a second-team All-ACC selection, and he was named the Fiesta Bowl defensive MVP after making five tackles and deflecting two passes.
—Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 25 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for deflect
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deflect
Verb
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Chicago had to remake its safety depth chart this offseason, and Coby Bryant and Thieneman have turned a potential weakness into a strength.—
Dane Brugler,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
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The scene at the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington turned chaotic, Los Angeles Times reporters wrote, when a man dashed toward the dining area and was met with gunfire.—
Karim Doumar,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The game swung on these knife-edge moments, but the actual performance levels were similar from both teams.—
Mark Carey,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
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But as the ball swung around the perimeter, opportunities arose for the likes of Dosunmu and McDaniels to crack the paint off the bounce.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Simply cut your downspout to the height of your rain barrel and divert water into it.—
Steve Bender,
Southern Living,
29 Apr. 2026
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But the shortages of Patriot defense systems remain a concern amid reports that the Pentagon is considering diverting advanced defensive weapons earmarked for Ukraine to the Middle East.—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Where artists like Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby pushed the instrument inventively into mostly instrumental jazz, Davis redirects it toward a more singer-songwriterly inwardness.—
Emma Madden,
Pitchfork,
28 Apr. 2026
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Motown Records redirected American pop away from its white-centric rock ’n’ roll course, and Smokey Robinson was central to that era-defining mission.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Read on to discover what the chefs will be whipping us this year at Culinary Masters.—
Nicole Hoey,
Robb Report,
24 Apr. 2026
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In a video obtained by WBZ, Nguyen can be seen sitting on the side of the mountain as the wind whipped around him.—
Abigail Adams,
PEOPLE,
22 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Deflect.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deflect. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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