deflect
part of speech
verb (deflect, deflects, deflected, deflecting)
meaning for a pupil
1) To deflect something means to make it change direction, especially by hitting it, like a ball bouncing off a player. tree →
2) To deflect attention, blame or a question means to turn it away from yourself or onto something else. tree →
3) (science) Light, a ray or a magnet's needle is deflected when it is turned to a new direction. tree →
sense in the lessons
In sport it describes a ball hitting a player and changing direction (a deflected shot). In science lessons, mirrors deflect light and magnets deflect a compass needle. In stories and everyday life it shows a character avoiding blame or a hard question. Phrases: «deflect the blame», «deflect criticism», «deflect attention».
examples
- The goalkeeper deflected the ball over the bar. tree →
- The shot was deflected off a defender and went in. tree →
- A mirror can deflect a beam of light. tree →
- The shield deflected the arrow. tree →
- He tried to deflect the blame onto his sister. tree →
- She deflected the question by talking about the weather. tree →
- The magnet deflected the compass needle. tree →
note
Regular verb: deflected. Noun: deflection. In football, a goal that is deflected may count as an own goal if it was heading wide. Not the same as «reflect»: reflect means bounce back (a mirror reflects); deflect means turn aside. Deflecting blame is often seen as unfair.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «deflect» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.