Synonym Chooser

How does the verb depart contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of depart are deviate, digress, diverge, swerve, and veer. While all these words mean "to turn aside from a straight course," depart suggests a deviation from a traditional or conventional course or type.

occasionally departs from his own guidelines

Where would deviate be a reasonable alternative to depart?

The synonyms deviate and depart are sometimes interchangeable, but deviate implies a turning from a customary or prescribed course.

never deviated from her daily routine

When could digress be used to replace depart?

While the synonyms digress and depart are close in meaning, digress applies to a departing from the subject of one's discourse.

a professor prone to digress

How do diverge and depart relate to one another?

Diverge may equal depart but usually suggests a branching of a main path into two or more leading in different directions.

after school their paths diverged

When is it sensible to use swerve instead of depart?

The meanings of swerve and depart largely overlap; however, swerve may suggest a physical, mental, or moral turning away from a given course, often with abruptness.

swerved to avoid hitting the dog

When can veer be used instead of depart?

The words veer and depart are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, veer implies a major change in direction.

at that point the path veers to the right

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of depart Trump will depart on Air Force One for L.A. this afternoon and is scheduled to touch down at 5:40 p.m., according to his public schedule, at Los Angeles International Airport. Kevin Dolak, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Jan. 2025 Rubio will depart for the trip next week as part of a visit to various countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic, according to the State Department. Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 24 Jan. 2025 In this scenario, TikTok would die a slow death, as its technology degrades and its social fabric weakens with users departing for other platforms. Andrew R. Chow, TIME, 15 Jan. 2025 Melvin succeeded Hoda Kotb, who announced her plan to depart last year and had her last day on Friday. Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for depart 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for depart
Verb
  • Strong and her daughter safely exited their home and waited for officers from the Jackson County Sheriff's Office to arrive.
    Kimberlee Speakman, People.com, 29 Jan. 2025
  • Another attorney — Radhika, 28, from New York — exits the limo doing a Bollywood dance, and Allyshia (29-year-old interior designer from Florida) asks the Bachelor to make a wish on her magic lamp.
    Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 28 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Adding his own personal perspective as a filmmaker living with disability, Davenport weaves an engrossing, moving and most importantly confrontational movie about the right to die and disability justice.
    Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 28 Jan. 2025
  • Eighteen of the 29 victims who died from the L.A. fires have been identified, according to the medical examiner's office.
    Tommy McArdle, People.com, 28 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • But this move now primes them to break the long drought and be much more formidable moving forward.
    David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Feb. 2025
  • The National Transportation Safety Board said on Saturday that the pilot of the American Airlines plane that collided with a Black Hawk helicopter earlier this week may have witnessed the incoming danger and tried to move the plane upward to avoid the crash.
    Zach LaChance, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 2 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • His survival, contrasted with the heartbreaking loss of over forty relatives, including his parents and grandmother who perished in the Holocaust, has shaped my understanding of the fragility of freedom and the strength of the human spirit.
    Joanie Schirm, Orlando Sentinel, 2 Feb. 2025
  • Almost two years ago, the BBC greenlit a three-part drama about the Grenfell Tower fire, a national tragedy in which 72 people perished in a devastating blaze at a London housing block.
    Jake Kanter, Deadline, 29 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • The proceeds from these sales go toward settling the taxpayer's debt to the government.
    Dan Perry, Newsweek, 31 Jan. 2025
  • Karla Sofía Gascón's troubles started before her tweets went public.
    Glamour, Glamour, 31 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • More light rain fell periodically through the Bay Area on Monday, continuing a pattern that began Friday and ended a nearly month-long stretch without precipitation.
    Rick Hurd, The Mercury News, 4 Feb. 2025
  • However, hiking deaths fall behind canyoneering deaths.
    Kiki Intarasuwan, CBS News, 3 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • The Chicago Sky just got bigger — and a whole lot better from behind the arc — in the first official day of WNBA free agency.
    Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 2 Feb. 2025
  • Both Arsenal and Manchester City got the job done in the Champions League in midweek with Arsenal securing automatic progress while City scraped their way through to the play-off places.
    Darren Richman, The Athletic, 2 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • While many impact craters on Earth have long disappeared due to erosion and other natural factors, the moon’s craters can help researchers better understand what happened on Earth billions of years ago.
    Ashley Strickland, CNN, 5 Feb. 2025
  • The plant has been disappearing before a combination of drought, wildfires, agriculture and urban development, according to Monarch Joint Venture, a group that works to protect monarchs.
    CBS News, CBS News, 4 Feb. 2025

Thesaurus Entries Near depart

Cite this Entry

“Depart.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/depart. Accessed 9 Feb. 2025.

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