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

Within the Internet, Ralph and Vanellope have to square away a painful reality: how friendships inevitably change when life goals diverge. — Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, "Wreck-It Ralph 2 review: Everything we wish Ready Player One had been," 21 Nov. 2018 History has also shown the stock market dropping precipitously in periods when the weight of the top five stocks in the S&P 500 significantly diverged from the weight of the bottom half of the index. — Akane Otani, WSJ, "Stock Market Fights Off Big Tech Stumbles," 29 July 2018 Afterwards, their salaries diverge, leaving women with earnings up to 20 percent less over the course of their careers, per Vox. — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, "Why Prince Harry Should Take an Extended Paternity Leave," 5 Apr. 2019 Even if Putin and Erdogan find accommodation in Syria, their interests diverge further north in the Black Sea, a theater for conflicts since Russian and Ottoman imperial days. — Fox News, "In familiar dance, Turkey warms to Russia as US ties unravel," 27 Aug. 2018 The fissures aren't uniform and diverge in terms of thickness. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Hawaii Added 875 Acres of Volcanic Land Last Year," 25 Feb. 2019 Eleven days after the fire, the exact death toll was still unclear, with figures diverging between coroners and the fire department. — Costas Kantouris And Elena Becatoros, Fox News, "Greece to tear down illegal fences for better fire safety," 3 Aug. 2018 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

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.