Meanings
plural divertissements · alternative divertisement · alternative archaic
- uncountableusuallyAn entertaining diversion.
- uncountableusuallyballetA short ballet within a larger work, usually providing a break from the main plot.
Patricia Delgado, though taller and paler-skinned, strongly resembles Jeanette, and in Miami they often dance together (in the “Emeralds” pas de trois from “Jewels,” for example, or leading successive divertissements in Balanchine’s “Swan Lake”).
2009 January 24, Alastair Macaulay, “A Young, Lively Crew From Florida Steps Up and Takes Flight”, in New York Times
Origin
From French.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
divertissement. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/divertissement
“divertissement.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/divertissement. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “divertissement,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/divertissement.
Source: divertissement on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.