deflect

From Latin deflecto, from de- + flecto (“to bend”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /dɪˈflɛkt/

  Rhymes: -ɛkt

deflect (third-person singular simple present deflects, present participle deflecting, simple past and past participle deflected)

1. (transitive) To make (something) deviate from its original path.
2. (transitive, ball games) To touch the ball, often unwittingly, after a shot or a sharp pass, thereby making it unpredictable for the other players.
3. (intransitive) To deviate from its original path.
4. (transitive, figuratively) To avoid addressing (questions, criticism, etc.).

   Synonym: elude

   The Prime Minister deflected some increasingly pointed questions by claiming he had an appointment.

5. (transitive, figuratively) To divert (attention, etc.).
   • 2013, Luke Harding and Uki Goni, Argentina urges UK to hand back Falklands and 'end colonialism (in The Guardian, 3 January 2013)

     Critics suggest that Fernández, an unashamed populist and nationalist, is seeking to deflect attention from social disharmony at home.

• clefted