to deflect the conversation
- phrasal verb
:
desviar la conversación
- When the topic of his missed deadlines came up, he quickly deflected the conversation to his new project.
He'll often deflect the conversations so he doesn't have to deal.
- He'll often deflect the conversations so he doesn't have to deal.
Examples
-
He often deflects the conversation to avoid discussing sensitive topics that make him uncomfortable.
-
Guilty people try to deflect the conversation.
Blog text (4) -
He'll often deflect the conversations so he doesn't have to deal.
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He'll often deflect the conversations so he doesn't have to deal.
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And by the way, a white woman, you know, your hero, Robin DiAngelo, coined that term, and it's for when people... when Black and brown people talk about racism and then white people get upset, you know, angry, and then deflect the conversation.
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During the interview, she tried to deflect the conversation away from her past mistakes by changing the subject.
Synonyms
76
4.6
To turn attention away from a person or thing
15
4.9
To avoid answering a question or dealing with a problem directly
6
5.2
To make people look at something else to avoid criticism
1
6.0
To avoid answering a difficult question by changing the subject
1
7.0
Avoid facing a difficult subject directly
1
8.8
Make people focus on something less important to hide a bigger problem
1
6.8
To avoid talking about a controversial issue on purpose
1
6.8
To avoid talking about a difficult subject by giving vague answers
1
7.0
To start talking about things not related to the main subject
To avoid answering a question directly by being unclear
Treat a problem as less important to avoid dealing with it
To stop talking about a subject
How Strongly
- Informal
1
7.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
deflect + the + conversation
The verb 'deflect' (to change the course of something) combined with 'conversation' (dialogue) yields the literal sense 'change the course of the conversation', so the intended meaning is directly derivable from the parts. This verb + noun compositional pattern is common and cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should understand the phrase.
Etymology
Deflect the conversation comes from the idea of deflect meaning to make something go to the side, like a shield turning an arrow away. So to deflect the conversation is to 'turn the conversation away' from a topic to avoid answering it.