swerve
n.n. a sudden, sharp change in direction or a big change in a plan or opinion. You use this when someone or something moves quickly to a different path.
n. a sudden, sharp change in direction or a significant shift in course, opinion, or strategy. Often used to describe a dramatic departure from a previous path or expectation.
The car made a sharp swerve to avoid the obstacle.
The company's sudden swerve toward sustainable energy surprised many of its traditional investors.
The politician's abrupt swerve from his previous moderate stance alienated his base, who felt he had abandoned the core principles of the party.
From Middle English swerven, swarven, from Old English sweorfan (“to file; rub; polish; scour; turn aside”), from Proto-Germanic swerbaną (“to rub off; wipe; mop”), from Proto-Indo-European swerbʰ- (“to turn; wipe; sweep”). Cognate with West Frisian swerve (“to wander; roam; swerve”), Dutch zwerven (“to wander; stray; roam”), Low German swarven (“to swerve; wander; riot”), Swedish dialectal svärva (“to wipe”), Icelandic sverfa (“to file”).