---
title: deflect — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «deflect» in the school dictionary: To deflect something means to make it change direction, especially by hitting it, like a ball bouncing off a player. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deflect/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [D](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/) / deflect

# deflect

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** ball, goalkeeper, mirror, shield, He, She · **What happens:** deflect, mean, make, change, hit, bounce off · **To what, where:** something, it, direction, player, attention, question · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«deflect» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 7 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [deflect in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/deflect.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To deflect something means to make it change direction, especially by hitting it, like a ball bouncing off a player.

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:deflect:m1:1
# text = To deflect something means to make it change direction, especially by hitting it, like a ball bouncing off a player.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	deflect	deflect	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	csubj	_	_
3	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	_
8	change	change	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	xcomp	_	_
9	direction	direction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
11	especially	especially	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
12	by	by	SCONJ	IN	_	13	mark	_	_
13	hitting	hit	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	8	advcl	_	_
14	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
16	like	like	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	ball	ball	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obl	_	_
19	bouncing	bounce	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	18	acl	_	_
20	off	off	ADP	RP	_	19	compound:prt	_	_
21	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	22	det	_	_
22	player	player	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **deflect** | to-infinitive |  | something |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent something=Patient |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **make** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | it |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **change** *not said to happen* | infinitive |  | direction |  |  |  |  | vn dress-41.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent direction=Patient |
| 5 | **hit** | gerund |  | direction |  |  |  | like a ball; especially *property* | vn contiguous\_location-47.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme it=Co-Theme |
| 6 | **bounce off** | gerund | a ball *not said here* | a player |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent player=Agent |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To deflect attention, blame or a question means to turn it away from yourself or onto something else.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:deflect:m2:1
# text = To deflect attention, blame or a question means to turn it away from yourself or onto something else.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	deflect	deflect	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	csubj	_	_
3	attention	attention	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
5	blame	blame	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	question	question	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	_
9	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	turn	turn	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	ccomp	_	_
12	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	obj	_	_
13	away	away	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
14	from	from	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	yourself	yourself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=2|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	11	obl	_	_
16	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
17	onto	onto	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
18	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	15	conj	_	_
19	else	else	ADV	RB	_	18	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **deflect** | to-infinitive |  | attention and blame or a question |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent attention=Patient |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **turn away** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | question |  |  |  | from yourself; away *property* | vn banish-10.2 «NP V NP PP.source»: agent=Agent it=Theme from yourself=Source |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: science — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Light, a ray or a magnet's needle is deflected when it is turned to a new direction.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:deflect:m3:1
# text = Light, a ray or a magnet's needle is deflected when it is turned to a new direction.
1	Light	light	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj:pass	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	ray	ray	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	conj	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	magnet	magnet	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	's	's	PART	POS	_	7	case	_	_
9	needle	needle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	conj	_	_
10	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	aux:pass	_	_
11	deflected	deflect	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
12	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	15	mark	_	_
13	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj	_	_
14	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	aux:pass	_	_
15	turned	turn	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	11	advcl	_	_
16	to	to	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
17	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
18	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	amod	_	_
19	direction	direction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **deflect** | present · passive |  | Light and a ray or a magnet's needle |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: subject=Patient |
| 2 | **turn** | present · passive |  | needle |  | a new direction |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V NP PP.trajectory»: subject=Theme to direction=Trajectory |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The goalkeeper deflected the ball over the bar.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:deflect:x1:1
# text = The goalkeeper deflected the ball over the bar.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	goalkeeper	goalkeeper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	deflected	deflect	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	ball	ball	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	over	over	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	bar	bar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **deflect** | past | the goalkeeper | the ball |  | the bar |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent ball=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The shot was deflected off a defender and went in.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:deflect:x2:1
# text = The shot was deflected off a defender and went in.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	shot	shot	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	deflected	deflect	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	off	off	ADP	RP	_	4	compound:prt	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	defender	defender	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	went	go	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
10	in	in	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **deflect off** | past · passive |  | the shot |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **go in** | past |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A mirror can deflect a beam of light.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:deflect:x3:1
# text = A mirror can deflect a beam of light.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	mirror	mirror	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	deflect	deflect	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	beam	beam	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	light	light	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **deflect** | can | a mirror | a beam of light |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent beam=Patient |
| 2 | **beam** |  |  | light |  |  |  |  | nom beam «communication transitive»: of=patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The shield deflected the arrow.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:deflect:x4:1
# text = The shield deflected the arrow.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	shield	shield	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	deflected	deflect	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	arrow	arrow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **deflect** | past | the shield | the arrow |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent arrow=Patient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He tried to deflect the blame onto his sister.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:deflect:x5:1
# text = He tried to deflect the blame onto his sister.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	tried	try	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	deflect	deflect	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	blame	blame	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	onto	onto	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	sister	sister	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **try** | past | He |  |  |  |  |  | vn try-61.1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **deflect** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | He *not said here* | the blame |  |  |  | onto his sister | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent blame=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She deflected the question by talking about the weather.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:deflect:x6:1
# text = She deflected the question by talking about the weather.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	deflected	deflect	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	question	question	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	by	by	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
6	talking	talk	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	2	advcl	_	_
7	about	about	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	weather	weather	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **deflect** | past | She | the question |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent question=Patient |
| 2 | **talk** | gerund | She *not said here* |  |  |  |  | about the weather | vn talk-37.5 «NP V PP.topic»: agent=Agent about weather=Topic |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The magnet deflected the compass needle.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:deflect:x7:1
# text = The magnet deflected the compass needle.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	magnet	magnet	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	deflected	deflect	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	compass	compass	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	needle	needle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **deflect** | past | the magnet | the compass needle |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent needle=Patient |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [deflation](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deflation/)
- next →: [deflection](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deflection/)
- ↑ back to [D in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/)