deflect
verbUK /dɪˈflɛkt/
Etymology From Latin deflecto, from de- (“away”) + flecto (“to bend”).
1
To make (something) deviate from its original path or position.
2
Ball games, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports To touch the ball, often unwittingly, after a shot or a sharp pass, thereby making it unpredictable for the other players.
- The defender deflected the cross into his own net.
3
To deviate from an original path or position.
4
Figuratively To avoid addressing (questions, criticism, etc.).
- The Prime Minister deflected some increasingly pointed questions by claiming he had an appointment.
5
Figuratively To divert (attention, etc.).
- Certainly there was much in the relationship itself that, with so much energy deflected into logistic maneuvering was never […] "worked out."1979 December 29, Rudy Kikel, “Young Men”, in Gay Community News, volume 7, number 23, page 16:
- Critics suggest that Fernández, an unashamed populist and nationalist, is seeking to deflect attention from social disharmony at home.2013 January 3, Luke Harding, Uki Goni, “Argentina urges UK to hand back Falklands and 'end colonialism”, in The Guardian:
6
Human sciences, Psychology, Sciences To redirect culpability to avoid it.
- Derived terms
- deflectable, deflective, deflectometer, deflectometry, deflector, redeflect
- Related terms
- deflection