divert
part of speech
verb (divert, diverts, diverted, diverting)
meaning for a pupil
1) To make something or someone change direction or go a different way: «divert traffic», «divert a river». tree →
2) To use money, time or supplies for a different purpose. tree →
3) To take someone's attention away from something: «divert attention». tree →
4) (formal, old) To amuse or entertain someone. tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday life and news, flights and traffic are diverted because of storms or accidents; road signs say «Diversion». In stories a character may divert a guard's attention to escape. In safety lessons, following diversion signs keeps you safe. Phrases: «divert traffic», «divert attention from», «divert a flight», «divert funds».
examples
- The police diverted the traffic round the accident. tree →
- Our flight was diverted to another airport because of fog. tree →
- The farmers diverted the stream to water their fields. tree →
- He told a joke to divert attention from his mistake. tree →
- The school diverted money to buy new books. tree →
- (formal) The puppet show diverted the children for an hour. tree →
- Thus they diverted themselves till evening, and in the evening they made ready to go to sleep. tree →
note
Noun: «diversion» (UK: a road detour; also something to amuse you). Adjective «diverting» means amusing (formal). Do not confuse with «divest» or «convert».
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «divert» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.