1
as in amuses
to cause (someone) to pass the time agreeably occupied
a light comedy to divert the tired business executive
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in turns
to change the course or direction of (something)
the bike race was diverted around the construction zone
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in distracts
to draw the attention or mind to something else
trying to divert the child with a toy while the doctor was giving her a shot
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of diverts
Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario goes long towards midfield, where Archie Gray diverts the ball to Rodrigo Bentancur.
—
Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026
These tissues regenerate constantly, so when protein is scarce, your body diverts amino acids away from these aesthetic functions toward more critical ones, like maintaining organ health and immunity.
—Lauryn Higgins, Time, 18 Dec. 2025
O’Neill directs the steamroller of tragedy right at the characters and then — atypically, delightfully — diverts it.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 14 Dec. 2025
Pureval said the move won't affect a city program that diverts nonviolent calls to mental health teams.
—David Ferrara, Cincinnati Enquirer, 24 Oct. 2025
The 42-mile long canal runs from Boise through Nampa and diverts 240 million gallons a day, according to the district.
—Idaho Statesman, 14 Oct. 2025
The system captures and diverts roughly 95% of the sewage overflows in the city, or about five billion gallons a year.
—Karl Schneider, IndyStar, 9 Oct. 2025
Transforming these bottles into supercapacitor components not only diverts waste from landfills but also provides sustainable, high-performance energy storage options.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 9 Oct. 2025
This invites empathy, diverts the conversation toward healing rather than fault-finding and helps both partners challenge the automatic assumption that blame is the only way to respond.
—Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026
These tissues regenerate constantly, so when protein is scarce, your body diverts amino acids away from these aesthetic functions toward more critical ones, like maintaining organ health and immunity.
—Lauryn Higgins, Time, 18 Dec. 2025
O’Neill directs the steamroller of tragedy right at the characters and then — atypically, delightfully — diverts it.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 14 Dec. 2025
Pureval said the move won't affect a city program that diverts nonviolent calls to mental health teams.
—David Ferrara, Cincinnati Enquirer, 24 Oct. 2025
The 42-mile long canal runs from Boise through Nampa and diverts 240 million gallons a day, according to the district.
—Idaho Statesman, 14 Oct. 2025
The system captures and diverts roughly 95% of the sewage overflows in the city, or about five billion gallons a year.
—Karl Schneider, IndyStar, 9 Oct. 2025
Transforming these bottles into supercapacitor components not only diverts waste from landfills but also provides sustainable, high-performance energy storage options.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 9 Oct. 2025
This invites empathy, diverts the conversation toward healing rather than fault-finding and helps both partners challenge the automatic assumption that blame is the only way to respond.
—Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for diverts
Verb
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In December, the two sat down in Exactly Right’s Burbank headquarters — a setting that still amuses them both.—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Jan. 2026
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Zoë has been Artemis' right-hand warrior for more than 2,000 years, giving her a more serious nature that amuses modern demigods.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
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That officer then turns his attention to the group of officers trying to restrain Pretti.—
Yahya Abou-Ghazala,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Copenhagen Fashion Week turns 20 this year.—
Amy O’Brien,
Vogue,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But treating reprocessing as a near-term fix for SONGS distracts from the work that experts agree is unavoidable.—
Mike Levin,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
21 Jan. 2026
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Also, my grandson is annoyed at someone else demanding my time which also distracts me from keeping a close eye on him.—
Jeanne Phillips,
Mercury News,
17 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Tellingly, when thinking about Erika on his own, Elliot entertains more traditional desires, like getting married and starting a family.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
24 Jan. 2026
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Washington Post food critic Elazar Sontag entertains your restaurant questions, rants and raves.—
Elazar Sontag,
Washington Post,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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When Bz points north, Earth’s field resists it; when Bz swings south, the two fields connect, allowing plasma to stream in.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
-
At 21 seconds, the person filming the video drives past the confrontation, and the camera swings to the other side of the street as someone in the car yells profanities.—
Kif Leswing,Terri Cullen,
CNBC,
25 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Most notably, watch here as backup center Oso Ighodaro shuts down Jalen Brunson’s final attempt to tie the score, then Grayson Allen deflects his pass, hustles into the backcourt and banks it off Mikal Bridges’ face and out of bounds.—
John Hollinger,
New York Times,
13 Jan. 2026
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With most Americans unhappy with the state of the economy, the president gets combative and deflects blame.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
21 Dec. 2025
Verb
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The film veers from JayDee’s story and takes some artistic liberties as Chito turns to transporting drugs for the character of Tío when fruit-picking isn’t enough.—
Tomás Mier,
Rolling Stone,
19 Jan. 2026
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After the vehicle begins to move forward and accelerate away from officers, one of them fires at the driver, who veers into the side and crashes into other cars parked on the street.—
Sarah Fortinsky,
The Hill,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The bill also redirects $879 million in electric vehicle charging network funds approved under then-President Joe Biden to other infrastructure priorities, and cuts $928 million in high-speed rail grants.—
Reuters
Wire Service,
Dallas Morning News,
20 Jan. 2026
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This system provides an additional layer of protection between the wearer’s head and the shell of the helmet that redirects that angular, rotational movement away from the head.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
18 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Diverts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/diverts. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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