deflection

What it means

1. countableuncountableThe act of deflecting or something deflected.

   Russell's goalbound shot took a deflection off a defender and went out for a corner.

   1 more example

   The next morning Oswald stopped short in the middle of his shaving, which in his case involved the most tortuous deflections and grimacings.

   1918, H. G. Wells, Joan and Peter

2. countableuncountableDeviation (of a needle or other indicator or mechanism) from a previous position.

   1 more example

   At about the time that #1 tyre failed, the Flight Data Recorder shows right rudder deflection. This may have been applied to correct a yaw to the left. (Traces of the left main gear on the runway show that the nose wheels were to the right of the centreline and never crossed it.) About 500 metres from the threshold, the inner wheels of the left main gear bogie had closed from about 2 1⁄2 metres to about one metre to the left of the centreline; this may have been because of over-correction for a tendency to yaw to the left or weather-cocking because of the surface wind. Whatever the reason, the actual deviation would probably have been considered insignificant to the cockpit crew.

   1993 June, Presidency of Civil Aviation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, “2.7.2 Take-Off”, in McDonnell-Douglas DC-8-61, C-GMXQ, accident at King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on 11 July 1991, archived from the original on 14 May 2022

3. countablefigurativelyuncountableThe act of refusing to address something (questions, criticism, etc.).

   “‘I’m focused on the future’ is one of the most generic store-brand fuckboy deflections there is,” Oliver fumed.

   2024 October 7, John Oliver, quotee, “John Oliver on VP debate’s ‘civility’: ‘Etiquette is kind of beside the point’”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

In a sentence

Russell's goalbound shot took a deflection off a defender and went out for a corner.

Where it comes from

1. Latindēflexiō
2. Englishdeflection

From Latin dēflexiō, from dēflectere (“to deflect”; participle stem dēflex-) + -iō (suffix forming abstract nouns). The non-etymological spelling deflection is taken from the present stem dēflect-, associated with collection, dissection, etc. By surface analysis, deflect + -ion.