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
Taylor deflected the idea of needing to add competition at the spot to director of player personnel and de facto GM Duke Tobin.
—
Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Karlie Lema charging towards goal, but her attempt toward the left post was deflected out of bounds for a corner kick.
—Mercury News Staff, Mercury News, 28 Sep. 2025
Yet during a virtual media scrum this week, Boley deflected praise to third-year o-line coach Terry Heffernan.
—David Teel, Miami Herald, 27 Sep. 2025
An asteroid that scientists initially feared might pose a risk to Earth may could instead strike the moon in 2032, according to the European Space Agency, but some scientists are suggesting it could be deflected with kinetic or nuclear explosions.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 23 Sep. 2025
Debinha’s kick was deflected by Reign goalkeeper Claudia Dickey, but not enough to keep the ball out of the net for the Brazilian star’s sixth goal of the season.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2025
Pablo López raced off the mound, chasing after a ball that deflected off of his foot.
—Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 20 Sep. 2025
But, when asked about the book’s relatively tepid judgments of the President and his party, Manchin has deflected or demurred.
—Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2025
Smith didn’t complete a single pass that traveled in the air for 10 yards or more, and the Chargers deflected 15 of his throws.
—Elliott Teaford, Oc Register, 16 Sep. 2025
Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Karlie Lema charging towards goal, but her attempt toward the left post was deflected out of bounds for a corner kick.
—Mercury News Staff, Mercury News, 28 Sep. 2025
Yet during a virtual media scrum this week, Boley deflected praise to third-year o-line coach Terry Heffernan.
—David Teel, Miami Herald, 27 Sep. 2025
An asteroid that scientists initially feared might pose a risk to Earth may could instead strike the moon in 2032, according to the European Space Agency, but some scientists are suggesting it could be deflected with kinetic or nuclear explosions.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 23 Sep. 2025
Debinha’s kick was deflected by Reign goalkeeper Claudia Dickey, but not enough to keep the ball out of the net for the Brazilian star’s sixth goal of the season.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2025
Pablo López raced off the mound, chasing after a ball that deflected off of his foot.
—Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 20 Sep. 2025
But, when asked about the book’s relatively tepid judgments of the President and his party, Manchin has deflected or demurred.
—Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2025
Smith didn’t complete a single pass that traveled in the air for 10 yards or more, and the Chargers deflected 15 of his throws.
—Elliott Teaford, Oc Register, 16 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deflected
Verb
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As Houston started focusing more on eliminating shots around the basket, Atlanta swung the ball around the perimeter and created easy 3-point looks that drew frustrated timeouts from Udoka on multiple occasions.—
William Guillory,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
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In the 2022 and 2024 cycles, pro-Israel groups swung into Democratic primaries, spending money against progressive critics of the Jewish state and keeping several out of Congress.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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With hundreds of Elanco employees gathered with blue confetti at the ready, Indy, a rescue shelter dog turned service-dog-in-training, performed the official ribbon cutting, or in this case ribbon biting.—
Alysa Guffey,
IndyStar,
2 Oct. 2025
-
When her biological daughter turned 7, however, something shifted.—
Nicole Chung,
The Atlantic,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Hakeem actually whipped his members to shut the government down.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Sep. 2025
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Folding whipped topping gently into the pudding mixture keeps the filling fluffy and mousse-like.—
Kimberly Holland,
Southern Living,
27 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The munition can also be diverted mid-flight if battlefield conditions change — a feature that commanders say minimizes collateral damage and protects soldiers.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Sep. 2025
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All traffic on that section of I-35E was being diverted to Oak Lawn Avenue.—
Emerson Clarridge,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Leadership in batteries, robotics and automation brings economies of scale and deep R&D pipelines that can be redirected toward military use.—
Rebecca A. Fannin,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
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Tipsword explained under the law, 911 dispatchers need additional training to recognize when certain calls should be redirected to the 988 crisis line.—
Center Square,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Deflected.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deflected. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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