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
Payton, though, deflected a question Wednesday about touch-and-go success in the screen game.
—
Luca Evans, Denver Post, 23 Oct. 2025
New Jersey center Dawson Mercer had a wide open net to shoot at, with Gustavsson down after making a save, but Mercer’s shot deflected off the shaft of Marco Rossi’s stick and over the net.
—Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 23 Oct. 2025
But this time Ozer deflected, saying that the funding was coming from one of his new partners.
—Steve Belanger, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2025
On third-and-14, Mahomes’ next pass was deflected by a Raiders defender — yet somehow landed in the hands of Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster for a 19-yard first down.
—Kansas City Star, 19 Oct. 2025
Amid a scrum in the penalty area, Joel Waterman’s shot caromed off the chest of Turgeman, who inadvertently deflected the ball into his own net.
—Julian Cardillo, Boston Herald, 18 Oct. 2025
Woolen made the Pro Bowl after a fantastic rookie campaign with six interceptions, 16 passes deflected, and over 60 tackles.
—Cameron Belcher, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025
Spam, robocall, and phishing attempts are deflected away from your true identity, keeping you safe and private.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2025
Rohan Nadkarni The Chiefs went for it on 4th-and-1 from Detroit’s 19-yard line, and Patrick Mahomes’s pass was deflected by Lions safety Thomas Harper for an incompletion.
—Rohan Nadkarni, NBC news, 13 Oct. 2025
Luca Evans, Denver Post, 23 Oct. 2025
New Jersey center Dawson Mercer had a wide open net to shoot at, with Gustavsson down after making a save, but Mercer’s shot deflected off the shaft of Marco Rossi’s stick and over the net.
—Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 23 Oct. 2025
But this time Ozer deflected, saying that the funding was coming from one of his new partners.
—Steve Belanger, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2025
On third-and-14, Mahomes’ next pass was deflected by a Raiders defender — yet somehow landed in the hands of Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster for a 19-yard first down.
—Kansas City Star, 19 Oct. 2025
Amid a scrum in the penalty area, Joel Waterman’s shot caromed off the chest of Turgeman, who inadvertently deflected the ball into his own net.
—Julian Cardillo, Boston Herald, 18 Oct. 2025
Woolen made the Pro Bowl after a fantastic rookie campaign with six interceptions, 16 passes deflected, and over 60 tackles.
—Cameron Belcher, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025
Spam, robocall, and phishing attempts are deflected away from your true identity, keeping you safe and private.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2025
Rohan Nadkarni The Chiefs went for it on 4th-and-1 from Detroit’s 19-yard line, and Patrick Mahomes’s pass was deflected by Lions safety Thomas Harper for an incompletion.
—Rohan Nadkarni, NBC news, 13 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deflected
Verb
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Doncic quickly swung the ball to Reaves after Minnesota sent two defenders his way, while Ayton’s defender (Rudy Gobert) went to pressure Reaves on the perimeter, briefly opening up a cutting lane for Ayton.—
Khobi Price,
Oc Register,
25 Oct. 2025
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In another potentially worrying sign for the president, younger Hispanics and Hispanic men — two groups that swung particularly dramatically toward him in last year’s election — also see him a bit more negatively.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The nurse turned at the sound of footsteps outside the curtain around my bed.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Oct. 2025
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No team in the Championship has lost more than the nine points Wrexham have dropped from a winning position this term, a damaging trait that began on the opening day at Southampton when two stoppage-time goals turned a 1-0 win into a dramatic loss.—
Richard Sutcliffe,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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LaVine and Monk whipped the crowd into a frenzy, combining to make 17 of 32 from the field and 10 of 18 from 3-point range as the Kings bounced back from a season-opening loss to the Phoenix Suns.—
Jason Anderson,
Sacbee.com,
25 Oct. 2025
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The cold brew is bitter but topped with a fluffy, whipped cold foam that tastes almondy, sweet and spice-filled.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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His double in the final — a cheeky free kick and a left-footed volley at the back-post — officially took his tournament tally up to five, but the Famalicao forward saw three further shots diverted into the net for own goals.—
Thom Harris,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
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The film, produced by Star Platinum, dramatizes a 1970 incident in which a communist group hijacked a passenger plane and diverted it to Pyongyang.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Later, if the user pastes normally, they could be redirected to phishing sites and have sensitive log-in information stolen, including MFA (multifactor authentication) codes.—
Beatrice Nolan,
Fortune,
23 Oct. 2025
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In March 2023, Phillip signed with the Las Vegas Raiders, then he was redirected to the Denver Broncos before the season started.—
Zoey Lyttle,
PEOPLE,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Deflected.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deflected. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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