as in swung
to change the course or direction of (something)
the wind deflected the Frisbee just as I was about to lunge for it
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of deflected
In the Hall effect, charge carriers are normally deflected by a magnetic field.
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Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 14 Jan. 2026
Grubauer deflected Zibanejad's initial shot wide and off the end board, and Zibanejad followed it and sent the rebound from behind the goal line back off the goalie and in for his 18th.
—CBS News, 13 Jan. 2026
Rodgers also had a few of his passes deflected.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 13 Jan. 2026
The center put a shot on Philipp Grubauer right after the Kraken’s first power play ended, and the goalie deflected it over the net with his glove.
—Peter Baugh, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2026
Teair Tart deflected a pass into Daiyan Henley’s arms at the Patriots’ 10.
—Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Jan. 2026
Jaquan Brisker deflected the ball, setting off a wild celebration — and a curt handshake between Johnson and Packers coach Matt LaFleur.
—Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2026
Jaquan Brisker deflected the ball, setting off a wild celebration -- and a curt handshake between Johnson and Packers coach Matt LaFleur.
—Andrew Seligman, Denver Post, 11 Jan. 2026
A couple were fluky, like a strip-sack and an interception in the end zone deflected by a defender’s face mask.
—Adam Grosbard, Oc Register, 9 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deflected
Verb
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The kids were up at daybreak, congregating beneath the parachute, having already swung on the rope swing, picked on one another, cried a little, and gotten into a cooler of sodas.—
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Today, however, the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction.—
Verb
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Bryant turned the ball over 17 times and allowed Jonesboro (13-7, 1-1) to score repeatedly in transition.—
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Owens turned herself into Long Beach police Wednesday, and she was booked on $200,000 bail.—
Verb
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Chargers blockers failed to solve a few stunts, The Patriots whipped them on straight-up rushes, too.—
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While eating at the restaurant with her parents, Black begged for her own tasty drink and the bartender whipped one up, naming it after her.—
Verb
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In an earlier social media post, the CHP office said traffic was being diverted to I-15 northbound or the I-15 southbound, and that motorists should plan alternate routes.—
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Chinese tourism to Japan has been diverted to South Korea, with the latter country receiving a boom in visitors from China since November.—
Verb
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With Jonathan Aspirot in the box for holding, Chandler Stephenson redirected a Jared McCann shot from the low slot past Swayman and the lead was halved.—
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Attackers are counting on common mistakes, such as clicking the reset button and rushing through the process, reusing a weak password, getting redirected to a fake follow-up page or falling for a second scam email that arrives soon after.—
Cite this Entry
“Deflected.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deflected. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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