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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Recent Examples of deflects
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
Rue questions the nature of Jules’s relationship, but Jules deflects.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 20 Apr. 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
The Attorney General of the United States deflects and denies.
—Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2026
In each case, economic performance risks becoming a rhetorical shield — one that deflects scrutiny from actions that undermine democratic norms and constitutional principles.
—Kenneth Zagacki, Chicago Tribune, 22 Feb. 2026
Fred Katz, New York Times, 15 May 2026
Rue questions the nature of Jules’s relationship, but Jules deflects.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 20 Apr. 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
The Attorney General of the United States deflects and denies.
—Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2026
In each case, economic performance risks becoming a rhetorical shield — one that deflects scrutiny from actions that undermine democratic norms and constitutional principles.
—Kenneth Zagacki, Chicago Tribune, 22 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deflects
Verb
-
Skau warned that as attention turns towards ameliorating the security crisis, resources should not be taken away from addressing the surging humanitarian needs, which include more than 5 million people who do not have enough to eat.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
4 June 2026
-
Your optimism helps others stay open, while your curiosity quickly finds the tweak that turns tension into teamwork.—
PubSubHub User,
Baltimore Sun,
4 June 2026
Verb
-
Instead of those handle halves folding around close to 180 degrees to reveal a central set of pliers like many other Leathermans do, one of the Crunch's handles pulls out and swings downward via an internal arm to reveal the pliers, which in turn swing into position.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
4 June 2026
-
The thought swings through her, like a burning stick through night air.—
Maggie O’Farrell,
Literary Hub,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
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.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
8 June 2026
-
And focusing on Marilyn and a bathing suit, and calling that exploitation sort of diverts the conversation away from where she actually was exploited.—
Julian Sancton,
HollywoodReporter,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
The vessel bends, blocks, and whips the wind into complex micro-currents before the air ever hits the sails.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
2 June 2026
-
In the fourth minute, Meschack Elia whips a ball across the box to Bakambu, eight yards from goal.—
Franklin Leonard,
Vanity Fair,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
If Muntadas’s work expands the spectacle of self-exploitation to its wider social implications, Lord’s chapter in Media Hostages, Future Language, redirects this attention to the uninterested spectators passing by the billboard on the road.—
Jonathan Odden,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
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The moon in Sagittarius keeps communication flowing, while the Capricorn moon later this evening redirects your focus toward home, family and personal responsibilities.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
Check out this 1997 live TV version of Paranoid Android, which veers from lullaby to apocalypse within the space of a few minutes.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
30 May 2026
-
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.—
Sophie Gilbert,
The Atlantic,
20 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Deflects.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deflects. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
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