as in turns
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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of deflects
Porsha deflects, saying Drew ruined the mood.
—
Ile-Ife Okantah,
Vulture,
29 June 2026
Root deflects credit for its hilarity.
—
Stephen Rodrick,
Rolling Stone,
16 June 2026
My aunt is easily offended and deflects any criticism, while my dad avoids confrontation at any cost.
—
Jeanne Phillips,
Mercury News,
11 June 2026
Maxey tries to create an advantage but cannot, and Bridges, with those never-ending arms, deflects the bounce and gets the steal.
—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
Christian therapists now widely condemn this as spiritual gaslighting that deflects accountability and compounds trauma.
—
Ed Gaskin,
Boston Herald,
29 Mar. 2026
But Herb deflects any praise that comes his way.
—
Greg Riddle,
Dallas Morning News,
26 Mar. 2026
Takyiwaa Manuh, an emerita professor at the University of Ghana, argues that targeting the LGBTQ community deflects attention from issues of poor governance.
—
Nimi Princewill,
CNN Money,
16 Mar. 2026
Yas deflects her concerns as naivete.
—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
2 Mar. 2026
Ile-Ife Okantah,
Vulture,
29 June 2026
Root deflects credit for its hilarity.
—
Stephen Rodrick,
Rolling Stone,
16 June 2026
My aunt is easily offended and deflects any criticism, while my dad avoids confrontation at any cost.
—
Jeanne Phillips,
Mercury News,
11 June 2026
Maxey tries to create an advantage but cannot, and Bridges, with those never-ending arms, deflects the bounce and gets the steal.
—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
Christian therapists now widely condemn this as spiritual gaslighting that deflects accountability and compounds trauma.
—
Ed Gaskin,
Boston Herald,
29 Mar. 2026
But Herb deflects any praise that comes his way.
—
Greg Riddle,
Dallas Morning News,
26 Mar. 2026
Takyiwaa Manuh, an emerita professor at the University of Ghana, argues that targeting the LGBTQ community deflects attention from issues of poor governance.
—
Nimi Princewill,
CNN Money,
16 Mar. 2026
Yas deflects her concerns as naivete.
—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
2 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deflects
Verb
-
As America turns 250, the semiquincentennial feels like a dud — a far cry from 1976’s bicentennial blowout, when pop culture and communal celebrations united a weary nation.
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The heat domes tend to form where the jet stream turns northward, moving up and over the dome itself and leading to strong flows of hot air from the south to the north near the Earth’s surface.
Verb
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But the blueness of these districts does mean that the socialists will get elected and likely survive when the pendulum swings back to the Republicans.
-
The map introduces the armored Oni, which swings a spiked kanabō, plus Scorched Zombies and fiery Hellhounds tied to its lava-field hazards.
Verb
-
But a road trip diverts your mind away from tech and into the present.
-
Like the lives of the characters who comprise Weinstein’s mosaic, the music is both lovingly intricate and all too easy to ignore when the algorithm diverts our attention elsewhere.
Verb
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As Rice whips the ball in with bend and power, keep an eye on England’s blockers in the clip below.
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The vessel bends, blocks, and whips the wind into complex micro-currents before the air ever hits the sails.
Verb
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Fortunately, the afternoon redirects your attention toward work, health and practical routines.
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Deadheading redirects the plant’s energy into producing more blooms.
Verb
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Check out this 1997 live TV version of Paranoid Android, which veers from lullaby to apocalypse within the space of a few minutes.
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But Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed almost immediately veers off into wild subplots about murder, corruption, and corporate malfeasance, as if to emphasize that low-level romance scams are just the tip of the internet’s fetid iceberg.
Cite this Entry
“Deflects.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deflects. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.
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