Library / English Dictionary

DEFLECTION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A turning aside (of your course or attention or concern)

Example:

a deflection from his goal

Synonyms:

deflection; deflexion; deviation; digression; divagation; diversion

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("deflection" is a kind of...):

turn; turning (the act of changing or reversing the direction of the course)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "deflection"):

red herring (any diversion intended to distract attention from the main issue)

Derivation:

deflect (turn aside and away from an initial or intended course)

deflect (turn from a straight course, fixed direction, or line of interest)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The property of being bent or deflected

Synonyms:

bending; deflection; deflexion

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("deflection" is a kind of...):

physical property (any property used to characterize matter and energy and their interactions)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "deflection"):

wind deflection; windage (the deflection of a projectile resulting from the effects of wind)

refractiveness; refractivity (the physical property of a medium as determined by its index of refraction)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The movement of the pointer or pen of a measuring instrument from its zero position

Synonyms:

deflection; deflexion

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("deflection" is a kind of...):

motion; movement (a natural event that involves a change in the position or location of something)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The amount by which a propagating wave is bent

Synonyms:

deflection; deflexion; refraction

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("deflection" is a kind of...):

bend; bending (movement that causes the formation of a curve)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A twist or aberration; especially a perverse or abnormal way of judging or acting

Synonyms:

deflection; warp

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("deflection" is a kind of...):

aberrance; aberrancy; aberration; deviance (a state or condition markedly different from the norm)

Credits