to deflect

Examples

• All

• And that's what's been deflecting me from my purpose.

  Love and Other Catastrophes (1996)

• By the same token, harsh features might deflect attention from a person's native goodness.

  Academic text (1993)

• What are they trying to deflect my attention from?

• And you have to just deflect to what you know would be the right choice.

• You see, this is a fine example of how the media likes to deflect the real issues with fake news.

  Coyotaje (2018)

• But I am aware that they deflected my question.

  Alien³ (1992)

• I've been opening up to you all night, and you deflect any real question I ask you about yourself.

  So Undercover (2012)

• You're trying to deflect the whole discussion onto my problems.

  On the Edge (2001)

• The day of the press conference, I deflected half a dozen calls from the Government Accounting Office.

  Fiction book (1995)

• The shield was designed to deflect arrows during battle.

Synonyms

D

to distract

vsto deflect

513 2.1

To make someone stop paying attention to what they are doing or thinking about

adds a sense of changing course or direction as its main aim

D

to divert

vsto deflect

94 4.2

To cause something like traffic or a river to go a different way

focuses more on changing direction to avoid, block, or distract

D

to distract from

vsto deflect

82 3.3

To make someone stop paying attention to something by showing something else

covers both attention shifts and physical redirection to avoid outcomes

F

to fend off

vsto deflect

34 3.9

Keep unwanted people or things away so they do not harm you

is usually about causing redirection or diversion rather than pure defense

D

to dodge

vsto deflect

25 5.3

To avoid answering a question or facing responsibility by giving unclear answers

may be less about redirecting something and more about simple avoidance

D

to deflect attention

vsto deflect

6 5.2

To make people look at something else to avoid criticism

is about changing course broadly, not only shifting people's focus

M

to misdirect

vsto deflect

5 6.0

To send someone the wrong way or give wrong directions

does not require false guidance and often aims to avoid or block

P

to parry

vsto deflect

2 8.1

To avoid answering a question by giving a vague answer

is a broader action of causing change of direction beyond clever avoidance

D

to deflect the conversation

vsto deflect

7.0

To change the topic on purpose to avoid a subject

applies to any change of direction, not only conversational topic shifts

D

to defocus

vsto deflect

6.7

To move attention away from something so people think about it less

is more about actively diverting or blocking rather than reducing emphasis

Phrasal Verbs

D

to deflect attention

6 5.2

To make people look at something else to avoid criticism

D

to deflect the conversation

7.0

To change the topic on purpose to avoid a subject

How Strongly

to turn around

384 2.0

to redirect

67 3.7

to deflect

76 4.6

to divert

94 4.2

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology