divergence

noun

di·​ver·​gence də-ˈvər-jən(t)s 

dī-

1

a

: a drawing apart (as of lines extending from a common center)

b

: difference, disagreement

c

evolutionary biology : the development of dissimilar traits or features (as of body structure or behavior) in closely related populations, species, or lineages of common ancestry that typically occupy dissimilar environments or ecological niches : divergent evolution

2

: a deviation from a course or standard

3

: the condition of being mathematically divergent

Synonyms

• bifurcation
• divarication
• divergency
• separation

Examples of divergence in a Sentence

a growing divergence of opinion about that U.S. president's place in history

any divergence from the community's strict moral code was met with social ostracism

Recent Examples on the Web

Apart India’s and Israel’s historic perceptions of colonial ideology and religious nationalism are at the root of their longstanding divergence. —Manjari Chatterjee Miller, Foreign Affairs, 10 June 2024

The bank’s move marked a divergence from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which is maintaining high interest rates in the face of stubborn inflation. —Santul Nerkar, New York Times, 7 June 2024

For all the hard-right’s unity in wanting to keep migrants out, ridicule climate measures as woke fiction and uphold conservative family values, there also are fundamental divergences. —Eli Joseph, Fortune Europe, 5 June 2024

The fact that the first major divergence from ancestral snakes is the blind snake group—a small, burrowing type of serpent—adds some weight to this theory. —Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 4 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin dīvergentia, noun derivative of Latin dīvergent-, dīvergens divergent

First Known Use

1656, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

divergence

noun

di·​ver·​gence də-ˈvər-jən(t)s 

dī-

: the state of diverging : a drawing apart (as of lines extending from a common center)

Medical Definition

divergence

noun

di·​ver·​gence də-ˈvər-jən(t)s, dī- 

1

a

: a drawing apart

b

: the acquisition of dissimilar characters by related organisms under the influence of unlike environments

2

: dissemination of the effect of activity of a single nerve cell through multiple synaptic connections compare convergence sense 4

diverge

-ˈvərj 

verb

diverged; diverging

divergent

-ˈvər-jənt 

adjective