as in deviations
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 deflections
Last season with the Commanders, Jones had 41 tackles, five pass deflections and one quarterback hit in 12 games, including seven starts.
—
Tom Ignudo, CBS News, 13 Mar. 2026
Get burned by the wrong deflections, and the climb becomes too steep.
—Max Bultman, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2026
The coaches thought there were more deflections to be made.
—Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026
In seven seasons in Arizona, Thompson tallied 578 tackles, 37 pass deflections and nine interceptions.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Mar. 2026
Communication is a maze of deflections, accusations disguised as jokes, taunts masquerading as sincerity.
—Literary Hub, 24 Feb. 2026
Maddie Broxterman added 12 points with seven deflections, and Ella Welton collected eight points and seven rebounds.
—Butch Hart, Austin American Statesman, 23 Feb. 2026
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
Tom Ignudo, CBS News, 13 Mar. 2026
Get burned by the wrong deflections, and the climb becomes too steep.
—Max Bultman, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2026
The coaches thought there were more deflections to be made.
—Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026
In seven seasons in Arizona, Thompson tallied 578 tackles, 37 pass deflections and nine interceptions.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Mar. 2026
Communication is a maze of deflections, accusations disguised as jokes, taunts masquerading as sincerity.
—Literary Hub, 24 Feb. 2026
Maddie Broxterman added 12 points with seven deflections, and Ella Welton collected eight points and seven rebounds.
—Butch Hart, Austin American Statesman, 23 Feb. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deflections
deviations
Noun
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The DigiMEP platform’s reporting architecture extends from individual service visits to enterprise-level dashboards, where equipment health, service verification, and performance deviations can be analyzed in aggregate.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
27 Feb. 2026
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There may be slight deviations from the podcast audio.—
Amanda Luberto,
AZCentral.com,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Deflections.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deflections. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.
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