Meaning & use
divert
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitive
To send traffic, water or a vehicle along a different route.
Grammar: Takes an object: divert the flights, divert a river.
Patterns
- divert something to somewhere
- divert something from something
Police diverted traffic onto side streets because of the accident.
The pilot diverted the plane to a nearby airport when a storm blocked the way.
Workers built a channel to divert water away from the road.
verbtransitive
To turn someone's attention away from something, or entertain them.
Grammar: Often followed by from: divert attention from a problem.
Patterns
- divert attention from something
- divert someone from something
He told a joke to divert the crowd's attention from the mistake.
The magician used a loud noise to divert our eyes from his hands.
Games can divert a child who is anxious about a doctor's visit.
verbtransitive
To use money or resources for a purpose other than the one planned.
Grammar: Often used with funds and a destination: divert money to a new project.
Patterns
- divert funds to something
- divert something from something
The council diverted funds from road repairs to flood defenses.
Some of the donations were diverted into the manager's personal account.
The company diverted staff to the urgent project.
Word forms
| third person singular | diverts |
|---|---|
| past tense | diverted |
| past participle | diverted |
| -ing form | diverting |
Common combinations
- divert attention
- Politicians sometimes divert attention with a new controversy.
- divert traffic
- Roadworks will divert traffic for three weeks.
- divert funds
- The charity was accused of diverting funds.
- divert a flight
- Bad weather forced the airline to divert the flight.
- divert resources
- The hospital diverted resources to the emergency ward.
Synonyms and how they differ
- redirect
- Redirect is neutral and simply means to point something in a new direction, while divert often suggests an obstacle or an unwanted change.
- reroute
- Reroute is used for physical routes such as traffic and mail, whereas divert also covers attention and money.
- distract
- Distract applies only to attention and often implies taking it away from something important, which is narrower than divert.
- deflect
- Deflect suggests turning aside something aimed at you, like criticism or a blow, rather than rerouting a flow.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: divert or divest? divert or diverge?
divert vs divest
Divest means to strip or sell off something such as a holding or rights, not to change a direction.
divert vs diverge
Diverge means to separate and go in different directions by itself, while divert needs something or someone causing the change.
Practice
The road was closed, so police had to ______ traffic along a side street.
Choose one answer.
Divert means to send traffic along another route. Diverge does not take an object here, and the others have unrelated meanings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “divert”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.