as in deviation
a turning away from a course or standard
a stern father who would not tolerate the slightest deflection from the strict moral code that he imposed on his children
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Recent Examples of deflection
Head coach Jordi Fernández has been consistent about it since Day 1, emphasizing ball pressure, deflections and making the other team uncomfortable.
—
C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 18 Feb. 2026
But ask anyone who knows him about Kuechly’s weaknesses, and the first thing that might come up is his deflection of praise.
—Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 17 Feb. 2026
That opened the floodgates, as Kendall Coyne scored on a deflection less than one minute later and Hayley Scamurra tapped in the puck outside the crease just over a minute after that.
—Greg Rosenstein, NBC news, 16 Feb. 2026
And while Tonali’s leveller was fortuitous, taking a heavy deflection off Douglas Luiz, his second strike was arrowed expertly into the bottom corner from distance.
—Chris Waugh, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for deflection
C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 18 Feb. 2026
But ask anyone who knows him about Kuechly’s weaknesses, and the first thing that might come up is his deflection of praise.
—Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 17 Feb. 2026
That opened the floodgates, as Kendall Coyne scored on a deflection less than one minute later and Hayley Scamurra tapped in the puck outside the crease just over a minute after that.
—Greg Rosenstein, NBC news, 16 Feb. 2026
And while Tonali’s leveller was fortuitous, taking a heavy deflection off Douglas Luiz, his second strike was arrowed expertly into the bottom corner from distance.
—Chris Waugh, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for deflection
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deflection
Noun
-
Last month’s Salesman release deviated from the historic pair’s colorblocking ever so slightly with the midsole making greater use of red, but no such deviation is see on the sole of Awake’s (speckling excluded).—
Ian Servantes,
Footwear News,
23 Feb. 2026
-
There may be slight deviations from the podcast audio.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
These are the 2026 contestants whose departures were highlighted in the episode (plus the recognizable faces USA TODAY spotted).—
KiMi Robinson,
USA Today,
24 Feb. 2026
-
Parking is just a block away, which makes arrival and departure even more straightforward.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
24 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Deflection.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deflection. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
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