as in swung
to change the course or direction of (something)
the wind deflected the Frisbee just as I was about to lunge for it
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Recent Examples of deflected
Colorado answered just past the midway point of the game when a Brent Burns shot from the blue line was deflected by Parker Kelly and past Wallstedt.
—
Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 14 May 2026
Fernández cut back to evade a defender near corner of the 6-yard box and then skipped a shot that deflected off the hand of goalkeeper Kristjian Kahlina and rolled into the net to open the scoring.
—Cbs New York Team, CBS News, 13 May 2026
Berhalter blasted a first-touch shot, off a feed from Kenji Cabrera, from just outside the area that deflected off the outstretched hands of goalkeeper Michael Collodi, ricocheted off the back post into the net to cap the scoring in the 64th minute.
—ABC News, 13 May 2026
The shot was going wide but deflected off Sabres defenseman Conor Timmins and got past Alex Lyon.
—Matthew Fairburn, New York Times, 11 May 2026
Hampus Lindholm collected it and sent a blind backhand pass back to David Pastrnak at the blue line that Josh Doan got his stick on and deflected it out of the zone.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 2 May 2026
In the top of the 10th inning, with Drew Gilbert as the automatic runner on second, Ramos led off with a groundball single that deflected off second baseman Bryson Stott’s glove.
—Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 1 May 2026
LaCombe’s pass across set up a Carlson one-timer that deflected off Viel, who dove and knocked in the loose puck for his second postseason goal.
—Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 27 Apr. 2026
Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 14 May 2026
Fernández cut back to evade a defender near corner of the 6-yard box and then skipped a shot that deflected off the hand of goalkeeper Kristjian Kahlina and rolled into the net to open the scoring.
—Cbs New York Team, CBS News, 13 May 2026
Berhalter blasted a first-touch shot, off a feed from Kenji Cabrera, from just outside the area that deflected off the outstretched hands of goalkeeper Michael Collodi, ricocheted off the back post into the net to cap the scoring in the 64th minute.
—ABC News, 13 May 2026
The shot was going wide but deflected off Sabres defenseman Conor Timmins and got past Alex Lyon.
—Matthew Fairburn, New York Times, 11 May 2026
Hampus Lindholm collected it and sent a blind backhand pass back to David Pastrnak at the blue line that Josh Doan got his stick on and deflected it out of the zone.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 2 May 2026
In the top of the 10th inning, with Drew Gilbert as the automatic runner on second, Ramos led off with a groundball single that deflected off second baseman Bryson Stott’s glove.
—Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 1 May 2026
LaCombe’s pass across set up a Carlson one-timer that deflected off Viel, who dove and knocked in the loose puck for his second postseason goal.
—Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 27 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deflected
Verb
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In a matter of hours, the South Korean Kospi swung from a fresh record high, above the 8,000 milestone, to a 6% loss.—
Katie Foley,
CNBC,
15 May 2026
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Rowles was one of several RedHawks who swung a big bat Wednesday afternoon during a 17-0 nonconference win in four innings over visiting Providence in Chicago.—
Tony Baranek,
Chicago Tribune,
14 May 2026
Verb
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Ricard turned this island into a whimsical microcosm of the good life—one filled with food, drink, creativit,y and communality—and now his descendants are continuing that spirit in partnership with the Zannier hotel group.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
12 May 2026
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Blanchette said the comment alarmed him and immediately turned his focus to Frew’s safety.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
12 May 2026
Verb
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Maria Wittorp, the hotel’s head concierge, said, with the haste of an auctioneer, standing in the lobby, as blazer-wearing staffers whipped by.—
Jane Bua,
New Yorker,
14 May 2026
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Real estate agents whipped out their phones to put a hard sell on anything east of I-95.—
Pat Beall,
Sun Sentinel,
8 May 2026
Verb
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Instead of remitting those taxes to the IRS, prosecutors alleged Kapoor diverted over $2 million from company accounts for his personal benefit.—
Jay Weaver,
Miami Herald,
14 May 2026
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Vehicles were allowed to use the slow lane and traffic was diverted off at the rest area.—
City News Service,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 May 2026
Verb
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The performance redirected her ambitions almost immediately.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
14 May 2026
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Saudi Arabia and the UAE have redirected some exports to ports that bypass Hormuz, the IEA said.—
Spencer Kimball,
CNBC,
13 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Deflected.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deflected. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
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