1
as in veers
to depart abruptly from a straight line or course
the car swerved sharply to avoid the squirrel in the road
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in curves
to turn away from a straight line or course
the bike path gently swerves to the right
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in bends
to cause to turn away from a straight line
a dog dashed out in front of me and made me swerve my bike to one side of the bike path
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of swerves
Duprey then swerves and slides under a vehicle.
—
Mark Prussin, CBS News, 17 Apr. 2026
And through all this, Saariaho’s elaborately beautiful orchestration scintillates, jabs, caresses, and swerves, giving all that vivid misery a sheen of lyric glamour.
—Justin Davidson, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2026
At first, the robot drives around a glass panel displaying an ad, but then swerves back inside the bus shelter and hits the panel without one.
—Frank Landymore, Futurism, 26 Mar. 2026
At one point during the interview, the conversation swerves into a five-minute debate about hair.
—Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 9 Mar. 2026
The Bentley then swerves into a guardrail and careens back across the highway, creating a cloud of dirt and car parts.
—Dallas Morning News, 26 Feb. 2026
Some readers might expect an indictment of fan fiction and celebrity culture; Yi swerves, though, and creates a more searching and subversive tale of love, connection, and art.
—Maya Chung, The Atlantic, 16 Jan. 2026
If one swerves, the other should race; but if one switches to racing, the other should swerve.
—Boris Babic, Fortune, 3 Jan. 2026
Yet whereas Taxi Driver ends in a sequence of redemptive carnage, First Reformed swerves in its last moments into a scene so ostentatiously at odds with everything coming before that accepting it at face value would seem to mean denying the film up to that point had anything serious to say.
—Roy Scranton
august 20, Literary Hub, 20 Aug. 2025
Mark Prussin, CBS News, 17 Apr. 2026
And through all this, Saariaho’s elaborately beautiful orchestration scintillates, jabs, caresses, and swerves, giving all that vivid misery a sheen of lyric glamour.
—Justin Davidson, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2026
At first, the robot drives around a glass panel displaying an ad, but then swerves back inside the bus shelter and hits the panel without one.
—Frank Landymore, Futurism, 26 Mar. 2026
At one point during the interview, the conversation swerves into a five-minute debate about hair.
—Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 9 Mar. 2026
The Bentley then swerves into a guardrail and careens back across the highway, creating a cloud of dirt and car parts.
—Dallas Morning News, 26 Feb. 2026
Some readers might expect an indictment of fan fiction and celebrity culture; Yi swerves, though, and creates a more searching and subversive tale of love, connection, and art.
—Maya Chung, The Atlantic, 16 Jan. 2026
If one swerves, the other should race; but if one switches to racing, the other should swerve.
—Boris Babic, Fortune, 3 Jan. 2026
Yet whereas Taxi Driver ends in a sequence of redemptive carnage, First Reformed swerves in its last moments into a scene so ostentatiously at odds with everything coming before that accepting it at face value would seem to mean denying the film up to that point had anything serious to say.
—Roy Scranton
august 20, Literary Hub, 20 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swerves
Verb
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Essie’s Mint Candy Apple captures that creamy green-blue finish, while Essie's Turquoise and Caicos veers more sage-esque in color.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
10 Apr. 2026
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Indeed, its approach often veers from intriguing to grating at times.—
Charles Lewis III,
Mercury News,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Designed by renowned architect Peter Zumthor, the sculptural design is a 900-foot-long, horizontal, glass and concrete structure that curves and stretches along Hancock Park and across Wilshire Boulevard.—
Julie Sharp,
CBS News,
15 Apr. 2026
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In another panel, a man and child walk away from the town along a railroad track that curves up and to the left, and then disappears.—
Judith Shulevitz,
The Atlantic,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Low-impact trekking and homestays offer rare access to a region where human presence still bends to nature’s terms.—
Rob Crossan,
Condé Nast Traveler,
22 Apr. 2026
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The historic surge was attributed in part to the comeback activities of BTS following their military hiatus — hard proof that the septet’s cultural gravity bends entire economies.—
Hanna Wickes,
Charlotte Observer,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Piker’s endorsement of Mills deviates from other progressives who have thrown their support behind Platner.—
Sydney Topf,
The Washington Examiner,
8 Apr. 2026
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But then the dream deviates, and takes me to the set of Gilligan’s Island, where Bob Denver, who originally played the part of Gilligan, has been replaced by a bearded intellectual who looks like Karl Marx combined with Cesar Romero, who played the Joker on the original Batman TV show.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Mar. 2026
Verb
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According to Archer Western, HDR’s design engineers failed to properly account for wind loads — including hurricane winds — in an initial, partial design for the signature bridge arches that the contractor used to calculate construction costs and time for its bid.—
Andres Viglucci,
Miami Herald,
8 Apr. 2026
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The front of the mouse arches down and spreads wide, suggesting the noggin of the snake it's named after.—
Zackery Cuevas,
PC Magazine,
14 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Aeration can be done with a core aerator that punches shallow holes in the surface, or with a shovel or a rototiller that turns the soil more deeply.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
23 Apr. 2026
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The three eventually work out their differences but not before Edgar turns Miles’s proto-smart-home devices against him, cancels his credit cards, and forges a criminal record for him.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Mark Lanier, a lawyer for the plaintiff, questioned Mosseri on Wednesday about whether Instagram chooses profits over the health and safety of minors and whether Mosseri oversees an app that hooks younger users.—
Samantha Delouya,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
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The cat who reaches through the kennel bars and hooks a paw around your finger.—
Cathy M. Rosenthal,
San Antonio Express-News,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The public discussion still swings between utopian promise and apocalyptic dread.—
Barry R. Davis,
Boston Herald,
17 Apr. 2026
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Sofi and Jordan rekindle friendships and more against a gorgeous backdrop as the pendulum swings between reconciliation and rupture.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
16 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Swerves.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swerves. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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