Synonyms of detours

detours 1 of 2

noun

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deviations
• departures
• deflections
• diversions
• divergences
• divergencies
• divagations
• regressions
• reversions
• retrogressions

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• adherences

detours

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of detour

1

as in bypasses

to avoid by going around

we had to detour the construction zone in order to get to the stadium

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bypasses
• avoids
• circumvents
• escapes
• circumnavigates
• skirts
• evades
• eludes
• shakes
• shuns
• eschews
• dodges
• flees
• leapfrogs
• ducks

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• faces
• meets
• confronts
• seeks
• pursues
• accepts
• embraces
• welcomes
• courts

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deviates
• turns
• swings
• veers
• swerves
• diverges
• wheels
• turns off
• zigzags
• tacks
• sheers
• turns back
• doubles (back)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of detours

Noun

The next day, historic flooding tore through parts of the region — washing out highways, triggering rock and mudslides and cutting off communities that have spent more than a week navigating lengthy detours. — Kelly Werthmann, CBS News, 11 Nov. 2026

Drivers are asked to use 10th Avenue North, Haverhill Road and Cresthaven Boulevard as detours. — Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 3 Nov. 2026

The series centered on Kerrigan as a comedian heading from New York to Los Angeles for a big career opportunity, only for a cross-country road trip with her boyfriend, played by Felix Levine, to face mishaps and detours. — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 2 Nov. 2026

The Utah Navajo Health System posted about highway closures and detours. — Christopher Weber, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2026

The Utah Navajo Health System posted several active highway closures, with detours. — ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026

That’s just the jumping-off point for a sprawling family saga that took countless comic detours — and flashbacks — over its five seasons. — Skyler Trepel, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Nov. 2026

Those detours would often be the inspiration that produced new design ideas. — Steven Weill, Architectural Digest, 22 Oct. 2026

Instead, developing Digit 5 has required large detours to incorporate requirements that seemed unrelated to my original vision. — IEEE Spectrum, 19 Oct. 2026

Verb

Fitzharris detours into the pseudoscience of the day, which included optography, the attempt to photograph the last image scalded onto a dead person’s retinas. — Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026

The bridge closure, which went into effect this week and is expected to last 14 months, detours six different bus routes in the area, relying on the adjacent Walnut and Chestnut Street passes while the Market Street Bridge is closed. — Kaitlyn McCormick, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026

But Mitchell’s film also increasingly detours from the Spielberg playbook. — ABC News, 12 Aug. 2026

Sanguinetti’s tender film detours through the motions of time and eventually brings fleshiness to her presence. — Manahil Tahira, Variety, 10 Aug. 2026

The trail undulates a bit over rocky rises and occasionally detours into the woods, but experienced hikers shouldn't have any problems. — Robert Annis, Midwest Living, 7 June 2026