1
as in veered
to depart abruptly from a straight line or course
the car swerved sharply to avoid the squirrel in the road
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in curved
to turn away from a straight line or course
the bike path gently swerves to the right
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in arched
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in deviated
to change one's course or direction
the hurricane had been following the coastline before it swerved and headed inland
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of swerved
Bates' car swerved off the freeway and came to a rest in a culvert, police said.
—
Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 2 Sep. 2025
Simoncic was one of two officers deploying tire-deflating devices in the 7200 block of State Avenue when Mitchell swerved, intentionally striking Simoncic, police Chief Karl Oakman previously told reporters.
—Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 27 Aug. 2025
His best friend was a passenger and died after the car Hank was driving swerved off the road.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 25 Aug. 2025
The truck, a gray Chevrolet Silverado, drove off the right shoulder of Cortez Street, hit a guardrail, swerved back across Cortez Street and drove off the left shoulder into the patio area of Ugly Dog Sports Cafe, according to a news release from the Colorado State Patrol.
—Lauren Penington, Denver Post, 17 Aug. 2025
The Wood Dale woman apparently swerved in an attempt to miss the pedestrian, police said.
—Clifford Ward, Chicago Tribune, 14 Aug. 2025
And Meghan and Harry have swerved the reputational injury that losing Netflix as a partner would have represented, although Ede argues the pressure is still on to produce great content.
—Jack Royston, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Aug. 2025
The 57-year-old coach recently swerved questions about the actress as rumors of them dating circulate on the internet.
—Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 5 Aug. 2025
More spikes were set up, and Cramer swerved and then crashed head-on into Martin’s patrol vehicle and launched him about 100 feet, authorities said.
—Jack Dura, Los Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2024
Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 2 Sep. 2025
Simoncic was one of two officers deploying tire-deflating devices in the 7200 block of State Avenue when Mitchell swerved, intentionally striking Simoncic, police Chief Karl Oakman previously told reporters.
—Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 27 Aug. 2025
His best friend was a passenger and died after the car Hank was driving swerved off the road.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 25 Aug. 2025
The truck, a gray Chevrolet Silverado, drove off the right shoulder of Cortez Street, hit a guardrail, swerved back across Cortez Street and drove off the left shoulder into the patio area of Ugly Dog Sports Cafe, according to a news release from the Colorado State Patrol.
—Lauren Penington, Denver Post, 17 Aug. 2025
The Wood Dale woman apparently swerved in an attempt to miss the pedestrian, police said.
—Clifford Ward, Chicago Tribune, 14 Aug. 2025
And Meghan and Harry have swerved the reputational injury that losing Netflix as a partner would have represented, although Ede argues the pressure is still on to produce great content.
—Jack Royston, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Aug. 2025
The 57-year-old coach recently swerved questions about the actress as rumors of them dating circulate on the internet.
—Armon Sadler, VIBE.com, 5 Aug. 2025
More spikes were set up, and Cramer swerved and then crashed head-on into Martin’s patrol vehicle and launched him about 100 feet, authorities said.
—Jack Dura, Los Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swerved
Verb
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From there, the questions veered into the details of banking regulatory policy.—
Ronald J. Hansen,
AZCentral.com,
5 Sep. 2025
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Their attempts at political discourse often veered toward the group speaking in vague, naïve universalisms.—
Emma Madden,
Pitchfork,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Bathrooms are also curved, with an abundance of wood and dark-green tile.—
Kim Velsey,
Curbed,
27 Aug. 2025
-
The skull vault curved like that of Homo sapiens.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
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On Queen West stands a cathedral to gastronomy, complete with maple wood arched ceiling and steaks worth worshipping.—
Kate Dingwall,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
-
The doors of its Venetian-style facade open up to welcoming spaces characterized by beam ceilings, arched windows and original frescoes.—
Sofia Celeste,
Footwear News,
25 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The Princess of Wales has rarely deviated from her signature brunette tresses, often styled in a bouncy blowout, since marrying into the royal family in 2011.—
Janine Henni,
PEOPLE,
8 Sep. 2025
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Which is why Mahomes played all of 48 seconds in the first two irrelevant games as Reid deviated from his customary inclination to play him most in the second-to-last rehearsal.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
23 Aug. 2025
Verb
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After the shooting, the school was placed in a lockdown and officials swept the campus.—
Alex Stone,
ABC News,
11 Sep. 2025
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That’s more exciting to me than last year, when James swept the fiction categories, with even the Pulitzer board overriding their fiction judges to award the big prize to Percival Everett’s novel.—
Maris Kreizman,
Literary Hub,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But crack was the drug Sheen said hooked him most.—
Erin Jensen,
USA Today,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Something about the game hooked Viskari.—
Zach Sweet,
Kansas City Star,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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For a locker room that’s been through a lot because the front office swung and missed on the worst quarterback trade in NFL history.—
Zac Jackson,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
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Busta also received an assist from Papoose and Joyner Lucas, all of them sharing lyrical wordplay and seamless tradeoffs as Busta swung between his trademark dichotomy of rapping to gruff bellowing.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The film bowed at Cannes Critics’ Week this year and won the Grand Prize.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
6 Sep. 2025
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Hisahito bowed deeply and thanked the Emperor for the crown and his parents for hosting the ceremony and pledged to fulfil his responsibility as a royal member.—
Mari Yamaguchi,
Twin Cities,
6 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Swerved.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swerved. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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