FluentPlex

deflection

/dəˈflɛkʃən/ noun C1
  1. The act of deflecting or something deflected. (countable, uncountable) · Russell's goalbound shot took a deflection off a defender and went out for a corner.
  2. Deviation (of a needle or other indicator or mechanism) from a previous position. (countable, uncountable)
  3. The act of refusing to address something (questions, criticism, etc.). (countable, figuratively, uncountable)
  4. The act of rejecting culpability by redirecting blame elsewhere. (countable, uncountable)
  5. Bending or deformation under load. (countable, uncountable)
  6. A tactic that forces an opposing piece to leave the square, rank or file it occupies, thus exposing the king or a valuable piece (countable, uncountable)

Plural deflections

+ Save to review

From the library

This inherent aversion to culpability gives rise to the phenomenon of the non-apology, a linguistic masterpiece of deflection and evasion.
The Art of the Apology, p. 1 · C2

Learn deflection in real texts

With a free account, hover any word in the library for its meaning, hear it read aloud, save words for review timed to your memory, and see how much of each book you already know.

Create free account
Words, meanings, pronunciations and translations from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); how common each word is from wordfreq. Made into this dictionary by FluentPlex.