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

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 The survey underscores how many economists diverge from the president on growth expectations, despite policies the White House and Republican lawmakers say will lead to a faster expansion over the long term. — Katia Dmitrieva, Bloomberg.com, "Economists Take Dim View of a Range of Trump Policies in Survey," 26 Feb. 2018 The contrast illustrates how two politicians with similar voting records and substantial time in public office can diverge on their approach to engaging with the public. — Drew Broach, NOLA.com, "Here's one striking difference between Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy," 15 Jan. 2018 And right now the Kremlin sees most of its interests diverging from those of Washington. — Evelyn Farkas, Time, "How Trump Could Actually Make the Summit with Putin a Success," 9 July 2018 The researchers believe that p. destructans has been diverging from its relatives for 20 million years, and is now entirely dependent on dark cave environments to live. — Rachel Kaufman, Smithsonian, "Three Ways Bats Could Bounce Back From Devastating White Nose Syndrome," 18 June 2018 The lottery winners, on average, were slightly happier than the control group, and the recently disabled were slightly less happy — but neither group diverged from the norm as drastically as would be expected. — Adam Sternbergh, The Cut, "Read This Story and Get Happier," 28 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.