as in deviation
a turning away from a course or standard
we'll regard this relapse as just a brief detour on your road to recovery from substance abuse
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to bypass
to avoid by going around
we had to detour the construction zone in order to get to the stadium
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of detour
Chris Wiley, New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2026
Drivers were advised to plan for potential detours and delays.
—Richard Ramos, CBS News, 28 Mar. 2026
Christian Cervantes, AZCentral.com, 20 Mar. 2026
South of International, the project would have detoured to a side street to ferry riders and pedestrians all the way to BART’s Coliseum Station.
—Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 16 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for detour
Noun
After a detour studying the humanities, he was admitted to the National College of Art and Design, in Bergen, which housed the country’s pioneering institute for the study of photography.
—Chris Wiley, New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2026
Drivers were advised to plan for potential detours and delays.
—Richard Ramos, CBS News, 28 Mar. 2026
Verb
Traffic will detour south on 16th Street and drivers can access SR 51 via Highland Avenue or Indian School Road.
—Christian Cervantes, AZCentral.com, 20 Mar. 2026
South of International, the project would have detoured to a side street to ferry riders and pedestrians all the way to BART’s Coliseum Station.
—Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 16 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for detour
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detour
Noun
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By improving their algorithms and collecting more data, the team hopes to improve their measurements and possibly uncover deviations from existing theories.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Mar. 2026
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To anyone following the MAHA movement and the activities of the surgeon general nominee, Casey Means, these deviations will not be surprising.—
Christopher Duggan,
STAT,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The case that almost wasn’t A March 2023 Cal-OSHA investigation found that the employer bypassed a safety device, making flipping the potentially deadly switch easier.—
Joe Rubin,
Sacbee.com,
1 Apr. 2026
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Rodriguez, for his part, must justify UM’s faith in him after the Canes bypassed adding a starting center in the transfer portal for the first time in four years.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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If the Giants don’t deviate from their rotation, Tyler Mahle will pitch on Saturday, while Landen Roupp and Adrian Houser will handle the first two games of the series in San Diego on Monday and Tuesday.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
27 Mar. 2026
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Accordingly, the warring factions have competed to depict themselves as the true embodiment of MAGA and paint their rivals as undermining Trump or deviating from his precepts.—
Jonathan Chait,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The Seattle Seahawks face a big transition at running back this year with the departure of Kenneth Walker III in free agency, and head coach Mike Macdonald opened up on where the team stands.—
Matthew Davis,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
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Those rates apply to bags checked more than 24 hours before departure.—
Lucia I Suarez Sang,
CBS News,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The unifying aspect of the recent cases is that they're crafted to circumvent Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which Congress passed in 1996 and President Bill Clinton signed into law.—
Jennifer Elias,Jonathan Vanian,
CNBC,
3 Apr. 2026
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Congress is on a two-week recess, but the Senate and House could move to fund all of DHS except ICE and CBP as early as Thursday using a procedure known as unanimous consent that allows the chambers to circumvent formal voting as long as no member objects.—
Sam Gringlas,
NPR,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The Times of India found workers in Chirag Dilli, the city’s dumpling-making capital, so stretched for fuel that some had given up on steaming and had turned operations over to chow mein.—
Nathan Heller,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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That combination can turn a small spark into a fast-moving fire.—
Joe Ruch,
CBS News,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Takaoka played a long arcing ball-ahead to Ocampo, who avoided goalkeeper James Pantemis — who had charged off his line — and rolled a shot from the edge of the penalty area inside the back post and into a wide-open net.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
5 Apr. 2026
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Refrain from entering water that might carry an electric current and avoid walking through floodwaters.—
STAR-TELEGRAM WEATHER BOT,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The three Americans and one Canadian will swing around the moon in their Orion capsule, hang a U-turn and then head straight back home without stopping.—
Marcia Dunn,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Apr. 2026
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This fuel burn sets Orion on a path around the moon called a free return trajectory, which essentially means the spacecraft will enter the moon’s gravitational influence (but won’t orbit our natural satellite) and will swing around its far side.—
Claire Cameron,
Scientific American,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Detour.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detour. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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