Definition of DIVERGE

Choose the Right Synonym for diverge

swerve, veer, deviate, depart, digress, diverge mean to turn aside from a straight course. swerve may suggest a physical, mental, or moral turning away from a given course, often with abruptness. swerved to avoid hitting the dog veer implies a major change in direction. at that point the path veers to the right deviate implies a turning from a customary or prescribed course. never deviated from her daily routine depart suggests a deviation from a traditional or conventional course or type. occasionally departs from his own guidelines digress applies to a departing from the subject of one's discourse. a professor prone to digress diverge may equal depart but usually suggests a branching of a main path into two or more leading in different directions. after school their paths diverged

Examples of diverge in a Sentence

A prism causes rays of light to diverge. They were close friends in college, but after graduation, their lives diverged.

Recent Examples on the Web

In February 2011, Japanese and Chinese trade data diverged by 46.7 percentage points; the following month, Beijing recorded a 46.5% boom in imports from Japan. — Mike Bird, WSJ, "The Global Trade Slowdown Will Get Worse Before It Gets Better," 21 Feb. 2019 But the new fossil provides evidence for how African and South American longnecks converged and diverged. — John Wenz, Popular Mechanics, "Meet the New Titanosaur, a Giant That Fills in Dinosaur Fossil Gaps," 13 Feb. 2019 That said, genetic estimates of when populations diverged rest on a wide range of data, much of which is still subject to debate and ongoing discoveries. — Cathleen O'grady, Ars Technica, "Plot twist: Mitochondrial DNA can come from both parents," 28 Nov. 2018 Get our daily newsletter These productions diverge strikingly from the Manichean tone of many blockbusters made during the conflict, especially those from the tub-thumping Reagan era (Mr le Carré was always a subtle exception). — The Economist, "The death of the archetypal Russian villain," 28 June 2018 Sears was also a prominent platform for executives with widely diverging political and social views. — Tiffany Hsu, The Seattle Times, "When Sears was everywhere: espionage, politics and fine art," 15 Oct. 2018 Sources: Wind; staff reports The aluminum sector shows some how corporate fortunes have diverged. — Shen Hong, WSJ, "Default Fears Add Fresh Stress to Chinese Private Sector," 11 Jan. 2019 Health care and the economy were the bread-and-butter issues that helped Democrats win in 2018, and Bustos shows no signs of diverging from that path. — Ella Nilsen, Vox, "Bustos will focus her attention on Middle America ahead of 2020.," 29 Nov. 2018 The analysis sought to determine how the recommendations from career employees diverged from the recommendations of the then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. — Tal Kopan, CNN, "DHS terminations of protected status ignored diplomats' recommendations, report says," 9 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'diverge.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.