divergence

noun

di·ver·gence | \ də-ˈvər-jən(t)s

, dī-\

Definition of divergence

1a : a drawing apart (as of lines extending from a common center)

b : difference, disagreement

c : the acquisition of dissimilar characters by related organisms in unlike environments

2 : a deviation from a course or standard

3 : the condition of being mathematically divergent

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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

Botanists use the divergence angles, or angles between consecutive leaves, to define a plant’s phyllotaxis. — Maddie Burakoff, Smithsonian, "Decoding the Mathematical Secrets of Plants’ Stunning Leaf Patterns," 6 June 2019 And the divergence sparked discussion that the BOJ is actually reducing stimulus, possibly as the first stage to normalizing monetary policy. — Bloomberg.com, "How Japan’s Central Bank Is Driving Speculation About the Future of Stimulus," 19 Feb. 2018 Bottlenecks in getting oil out of the prolific Permian basin in Texas have led to a big divergence in the benchmark prices of oil. — Amrith Ramkumar, WSJ, "In Oil’s Huge Drop, All Signs Say Made in the U.S.A.," 23 Nov. 2018 The new species is partly Denisovan, likely born from two of the three species' divergences. — Daisy Hernandez, Popular Mechanics, "Scientists Might Have Discovered a New Human Ancestor With DNA Analysis," 12 Apr. 2019 Perhaps that divergence contains lessons for our present moment of panic, too. — Sean Illing, Vox, "Intellectuals have said democracy is failing for a century. They were wrong.," 20 Dec. 2018 The re-route was a huge divergence from its usual trajectory across the Atlantic and through the Mediterranean, but thanks to excess windspeed harnessed by the jet stream, Flight 800 touched down on Turkish soil on time and unscathed. — Sam Blum, Popular Mechanics, "A Turkish Airlines Flight Flew an Extra 800 Miles and Still Landed on Time," 23 Oct. 2018 But there have been striking divergences based on partisanship, especially since the 2016 election. — Eric Oliver, Washington Post, "Trump’s election has polarized Americans’ views of the future," 2 Mar. 2018 That did little to narrow the divergence in views between the central bank and equity markets on whether global economic growth is slowing. — Jessica Menton, WSJ, "Stocks Fall Sharply as Nasdaq Closes Near Bear Market," 20 Dec. 2018

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