FromLatindeflecto, fromde-(“away”) +flecto(“to bend”).
deflect (third-person singular simple presentdeflects,present participledeflecting,simple past and past participledeflected)
- (transitive) Tomake (something)deviate from its originalpath orposition.
- (transitive, ball games) Totouch theball, oftenunwittingly, after ashot or a sharppass, thereby making itunpredictable for the other players.
The defenderdeflected the cross into his own net.
- (intransitive) Todeviate from an originalpath orposition.
- (transitive, figuratively) Toavoidaddressing (questions, criticism, etc.).
- Synonym:elude
The Prime Ministerdeflected some increasingly pointed questions by claiming he had an appointment.
- (transitive, figuratively) Todivert (attention, etc.).
1979 December 29, Rudy Kikel, “Young Men”, inGay Community News, volume 7, number23, page16:Certainly there was much in the relationship itself that, with so much energydeflected into logistic maneuvering was never[…] "worked out."
2013 January 3, Luke Harding, Uki Goni, “Argentina urges UK to hand back Falklands and 'end colonialism”, inThe Guardian[1]:Critics suggest that Fernández, an unashamed populist and nationalist, is seeking todeflect attention from social disharmony at home.
- (psychology) To redirectculpability to avoid it.
to make deviate
- Armenian:շեղել (hy)(šeġel)
- Bulgarian:отклонявам (bg)(otklonjavam)
- Catalan:desviar (ca)
- Finnish:poikkeuttaa (fi)
- French:détourner (fr)
- German:ablenken (de)
- Hungarian:eltérít (hu),elhajlít (hu)
- Indonesian:membelokkan (id),belokkan (id),mendefleksikan,defleksikan
- Latin:dēflectō
- Malay:memesongkan,pesongkan,mendefleksikan,defleksikan
- Māori:whakangungu
- Russian:отклоня́ть (ru) impf(otklonjátʹ),отклони́ть (ru) pf(otklonítʹ)
- Spanish:desviar (es),rebatir (es),deflejar,deflexionar
- Swedish:avlänka (sv),avböja (sv)
- Tagalog:ilihis
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to make a ball unpredictable
to avoid addressing questions, criticism etc.
to divert attention, etc.
