SWERVES Synonyms: 69 Similar and Opposite Words

swerves

verb

present tense third-person singular of swerve

as in veers

to depart abruptly from a straight line or course the car swerved sharply to avoid the squirrel in the road

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

straightens

as in curves

to turn away from a straight line or course the bike path gently swerves to the right

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

straightens

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in deviates

to change one's course or direction the hurricane had been following the coastline before it swerved and headed inland

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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 swerves Surveillance video obtained by ABC7 New York shows two men fighting in the street before gunshots ring out, and a vehicle swerves around the moped, appearing to flee the scene. — Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 23 Aug. 2026 The artist adopts a schizoid persona, with multiple voices flowing out of him, and swerves between lucid social criticism—about the history of slavery or of higher education—and total gibberish. — Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026 The elegant staging tries to compensate, but the performers have to rely a little too heavily on their own charms to make up the difference in a play that swerves unexpectedly at the end into a cutesy fairy tale. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026 At times comical, each of these stories swerves and plunges deep into dark truths of human nature. — Literary Hub, 9 June 2026 And then, quite predictably, Hacks swerves away from that pain at the last second. — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 29 May 2026 The one who swerves first loses face but survives. — Frank Holmes, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026 The conversation swerves to the inevitable topic of AI and art. — Erin Entrada Kelly, PEOPLE, 11 May 2026 As the season swerves into Lap 2, let’s see who’s doing better (and worse) lately. — Levi Weaver, New York Times, 4 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for swerves

Verb

At this point, the movie veers off the rails a bit, culminating in a very bloody conclusion.

— ABC News, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026
Most surprising, Just Us is marked by a lack of intellectual rigor that often veers close to bad faith.

— Charles Finch, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of veers

Verb

The aircraft, a C-17, is taller than any commercial vessel; ten feet above her head, the ceiling curves like a spaceship.

— ABC News, ABC News, 31 Aug. 2026
But plenty of long-range computer models continue to show a future for the system, most as a tropical storm headed west toward the Caribbean, although plenty also show a potential track that curves north of Puerto Rico.

— Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of curves

Verb

As the motor pulls the tendons, the tail bends into an S-shape, creating the side-to-side motion that quietly moves the whole device forward.

— Maryna Holovnova, New Atlas, 8 Sep. 2026
Authorities said Garcia was speeding down River Road, a two-lane highway that bends with the river, when the road turned.

— Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of bends

Verb

Price upon request Louis Vuitton Pharrell’s autumn outing features several eye-catching knits, including this volcanic take on a Nordic yoke sweater, which deviates from more-traditional styles with an irregular, almost pixilated gradient pattern.

— Jon Roth, Robb Report, 5 Sep. 2026
Walsh’s spaceship deviates from many of the vessels seen in Star Wars, as those ships are often dirty and grubby to emphasize their use and wear.

— Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of deviates

Verb

That in turn feeds ‘The Ticker’, the basic on-screen representation of the score and ‘The Computer’, another programme that turns that raw information into the more intricate graphics that appear on the screen.

— Nick Miller, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Teaching students to actively hunt for where logic breaks turns them from passive consumers into sharp, critical evaluators of AI systems.

— Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of turns

Verb

Right before guests arrive, attach fishing line to the wire cage and hang the fall flower arrangement using cup hooks indoors or on nearby branches outside.

— Maria Sabella, Architectural Digest, 20 Aug. 2026
Blatt hooks in a forehand for another match point opportunity, but Campbell wins an amazing rally for 22-22.

— Todd Boss, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of hooks

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“Swerves.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swerves. Accessed 11 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of swerves

verb

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