DictionaryAI

divert

verb
Saydy-VURT/daɪˈvɝt/UK/daɪˈvɜːt/

Formsdiverts, diverting, diverted

4 meanings of divert

Practice

  1. 1
    verbtransitive
    To turn something aside from its original course or direction.

    Engineers diverted the stream into a new channel to prevent flooding.

    The pilot had to divert the flight to another airport because of the storm.

    Similarredirect, reroute, deflect, channel, turn

    Note

    Latin di- 'apart' and vertere 'to turn' sit inside this sense, the same turning root found in verse. Streams, trains and roads are what typically get diverted: water away from a road, freight onto alternative routes, a main road around a village. The verb takes an object and usually a direction: away from, to, onto. The figurative meanings, drawing attention away among them, turn the same motion inward.

  2. 2
    verbtransitive
    To draw a person's attention away from one thing toward another.

    The magician diverted the audience with one hand while hiding the coin with the other.

    Clever advertisements divert shoppers from comparing the actual prices.

    Similardistract, sidetrack, deflect

  3. 3
    verbtransitive
    To entertain or amuse someone by occupying their attention pleasantly.

    The host diverted his guests with card tricks and lively conversation.

    Traveling performers would divert the crowds at country fairs.

    Similarentertain, amuse, delight, regale, occupy

    Oppositebore

    Note

    Pleasure by way of distraction: what diverts us draws our attention from other things and holds it agreeably. It is the same movement as drawing attention aside, but welcome. Charles John Smith's Synonyms Discriminated (1871) set it beside amuse: 'We are amused by a tale, diverted by a comedy.' It can sound like modest praise, as when Jonathan Cross grants that a clumsy show still manages to divert its audience for three hours.

Less common meaning

  1. 4
    verbobsoleteintransitive
    To turn aside from a course, or to wander away from the main subject.

    He would often divert from his sermon to recount some old story.

    I diverted to see one of the prince's palaces.
    1641, John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 28 August 1641]”
    Note

    John Evelyn could write in his diary in 1641 that he 'diverted to see one of the prince's palaces.' He used the verb with no object, a traveler turning himself aside. That use is now obsolete. Today the verb needs an object: you divert a train, a conversation or someone's attention. A person who strays from a route or a subject makes a detour or digresses.

Practice

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Origin

This word came through Middle English 'diverten' and Old French 'divertir' (to turn or go different ways, to separate, to divert), from Latin 'di-' (apart) plus 'vertere' (to turn).