1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

deviating 1 of 2

adjective

as in indirect

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

deviating

2 of 2

verb

present participle of deviate
as in turning
to change one's course or direction sailors forced to deviate from their course in order to avoid the storm

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 deviating
Verb
But maybe a line between North and South Carolina, between Tennessee and Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi then deviating south to divide Louisiana and Arkansas. — Joe Kinsey Outkick, FOXNews.com, 7 Sep. 2026 The artisans stay true to the original colors and designs of the park — never deviating in 70 years. — Carole Horst, Variety, 21 Aug. 2026 In 2024, the government decided against deviating from the 2021 census questions in the interests of maintaining social cohesion. — ABC News, 10 Aug. 2026 Practicing deviating from our defaults, no matter how mundane, prepares us to deviate again, even in higher stakes contexts. — Nell Derick Debevoise Dewey, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026 The highly disguised initial view of the model undergoing final testing showed the luxury marque deviating away from its traditional upright boxy off-road SUVs into a new territory. — New Atlas, 27 July 2026 Nyathi says she was inspired to write the book after seeing how African men were deviating from traditional open polygamy, to having secret second families, and the negative effects this was having on the women. — Kate Bartlett, NPR, 24 July 2026 And with no hikes priced in by markets, deviating from this strategy seems unlikely. — Sean Conlon,chloe Taylor,justina Lee,tanaya MacHeel, CNBC, 22 July 2026 Subaru redesigns its midsize SUV without deviating from winning formula. — Charles Singh, USA Today, 15 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deviating
  1. indirect
  2. turning
  3. circuitous
  4. veering
  5. roundabout
  6. diverging
Adjective
  • Within this region are two major neural pathways, known as the direct and indirect pathways, which appear to exert opposing influences over which actions are expressed.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Fabbrica, officials said, is an indirect subsidiary of a global construction company headquartered in Italy.
    — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of indirect
Verb
  • Clemons had served as the founding CEO of both ConnCAT and ConnCORP, turning them into hubs for economic and community revitalization that aimed to center the experiences and needs of residents in New Haven’s Dixwell and Newhallville neighborhoods.
    — P.R. Lockhart, Hartford Courant, 26 Sep. 2026
  • But Rattler fumbled right before crossing the goal line, turning the ball over.
    — Joel Beers, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of turning
Adjective
  • Other refuse made circuitous routes via Pakistan and Dubai, or else the Baltics and Central Asia, eventually landing in Hazara’s new home, Berlin.
    — Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Congress is again trying to reauthorize funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, or GLRI, but this year's effort has taken a circuitous route.
    — Caitlin Looby, jsonline.com, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of circuitous
Verb
  • The sheep were straying from the road, veering through the front yards of homeowners who weren’t in the grazing program.
    — Ingfei Chen, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Investigators say the 2019 McLaren accelerated from a green light before veering into the tree.
    — Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of veering
Adjective
  • The Route 20 and Reinking Road roundabout is about 80% complete, Pubentz said.
    — Gloria Casas, Chicago Tribune, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Trump has spent nearly a year touting his plans to build an arch at Memorial Circle, a traffic roundabout.
    — Dan Diamond, Arkansas Online, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of roundabout
Verb
  • Meanwhile, there are diverging views from executives and employees about where and how AI is used.
    — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Ad spending is diverging across industries Johnston also offered a glimpse into the advertising environment.
    — Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of diverging

Browse Nearby Words

deviates
deviating
deviation
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Deviating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deviating. Accessed 29 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of argot

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All