divert
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
to make something move in a different direction or follow a different route.
to cause someone or something to change course or turn from one direction to another. Transitive, often used with 'from' or 'to'.
Simple“The police had to divert traffic because of the accident on the main road.”
In context“The authorities decided to divert the river's flow into a series of man-made canals to prevent seasonal flooding in the valley.”
- 02 C1 Advanced
to use money, time, or effort for a different purpose than originally planned.
to reallocate money, attention, or resources from one purpose to another.
Simple“The government diverted funds from the military to improve the local schools.”
In context“The CEO was accused of diverting company profits into his personal offshore accounts over several years.”
Synonymsreallocateappropriate - 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
to take someone's attention away from what they are doing.
to draw the attention of a person away from a particular object or course of action.
Simple“The loud noise outside diverted my attention from the book I was reading.”
In context“The magician used a puff of smoke to divert the audience's gaze while he hid the bird in his sleeve.”
- 04 C1 Advanced
to entertain or amuse someone.
to provide amusement or entertainment by occupying the mind. Often used in the passive voice.
Simple“The children were diverted by the clown's funny tricks during the party.”
In context“The host sought to divert his guests with a series of parlor games and light musical performances.”
“That comes weeks after another grass fire near Heathrow's southern runway which forced 18 flights to divert and destroyed a large area of grassland.”
“The regional maritime insecurity has driven some ships closer to the Somali coast as they divert south to avoid the conflict further north.”
From Middle English diverten, Old French divertir (“to turn or go different ways, part, separate, divert”), from Latin di- (“apart”) + vertere (“to turn”); see verse.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.