detours 1 of 2

plural of detour
as in deviations
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

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detours

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of detour
1
2
as in deviates
to change one's course or direction we had to detour for a few miles around the section of highway under construction

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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 detours
Noun
And this weekend’s losses might just be detours on the way to the CFP. Ralph D. Russo, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025 As an ally of Moscow, China’s carriers continue to use Russian airspace, saving time, fuel and costs by avoiding the detours American aircraft must take. Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025 There are no detours, but expect traffic delays as crews shut down lanes for work. Craig Shoup, Nashville Tennessean, 9 Oct. 2025 The music was full of odd detours and experiments. Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2025 Drivers should be aware of detours for sections of Loop 101 and Loop 303 over the weekend. Jose R. Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 3 Oct. 2025 Delays and occasional detours on both highways should be anticipated. Idaho Statesman, 29 Sep. 2025 His early musical influences were mostly rockabilly; his later listening took detours through punk and glam and blues. Literary Hub, 26 Sep. 2025 The City of Indianapolis also has a tool that shows current and upcoming closures and detours within its boundaries. Ryan Murphy, IndyStar, 25 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detours
Noun
  • Detecting deviations from the routine, the stereotypical, was a forte for AI.
    Big Think, Big Think, 14 Oct. 2025
  • There may be slight deviations from the podcast audio.
    Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 13 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Trump’s approach, however, bypasses local consent, prompting lawsuits from Illinois and Oregon officials who argue the move is unconstitutional and escalates tensions unnecessarily.
    Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
  • This bypasses the current path of diagnosis, where symptoms are evaluated and a host of blood tests are performed to rule out other conditions such as thyroid problems or anemia.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 7 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Even in states whose policy deviates from the CDC, each pharmacy can set its own boundaries on who can be vaccinated, and individual pharmacists may fear liability for vaccinating pregnant customers, Groves said.
    Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic, 16 Sep. 2025
  • The Uncut Gems star's ensemble deviates from his signature style, which typically includes oversize T-shirts, hoodies and shorts, as well as stylish sneakers.
    Charna Flam, People.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • In fact, there are large asset pricing firms that make billions each year by being the fastest traders to exploit even tiny departures.
    Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2025
  • And also surviving the departures of people.
    Mathew Rodriguez, Them., 20 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • And in recent years, Major League Baseball has been pushing the World Series later into the year as playoffs expand and the league avoids Sunday games so as not to overlap with the NFL.
    Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 23 Oct. 2025
  • The agent logs only essential identifiers, avoids storing raw sensor data, caps how much and how often information is recorded, and disables third-party analytics by default.
    Keivan Navaie, IEEE Spectrum, 22 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Like one icicle falling from an alpine crag onto an unstable snow cornice below, a small slide rapidly turns into a thundering avalanche.
    Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 19 Oct. 2025
  • With its brilliant cast—Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Cloris Leachman, Teri Garr, Madeline Kahn—and incredibly funny script, Mel Brooks’s Young Frankenstein turns Mary Shelley’s classic story totally on its head.
    Emma Specter, Vogue, 19 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • This gambit circumvents the notorious way that measurements destroy quantumness.
    Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 1 Oct. 2025
  • But the Free Speech Coalition said companies might still be liable if a user in a state requiring age verification circumvents geographic targeting with a VPN.
    Jasmine Mithani, Them., 3 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The questions ask them about the society in general and the tone of the times shifts when the majority swings one way or the other.
    Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
  • But the tone swings between sour and sweet, grounded and silly, and the jokes run more broadly wacky than precise or original.
    Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 13 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Detours.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detours. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.

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