Results

Definition of divert : 1. To turn aside; to digress.
2. To turn aside; to turn off from any course or intended application; to deflect; as, to divert a river from its channel; to divert commerce from its usual course.
3. To turn away from any occupation, business, or study; to cause to have lively and agreeable sensations; to amuse; to entertain; as, children are diverted with sports; men are diverted with works of wit and humor.

Synonyms:

run around, vary, cavort, change, swing, pivot, diverge, excite, lark, shift, lark about, skylark, abstract, turn, discriminate, rollick, romp, eliminate, withdraw, deviate, steal, depart, distinguish, appropriate, gambol, separate, detach, hive off, turn aside, recreate, take away, sidetrack, remove, frolic, veer, sport, frisk, disturb, persuasion, disport, engage, regale, purloin

distract, relax, amuse, entertain, enthrall, charm, stimulate, delight, refresh, lighten, please, beguile

recuperate, reinvigorate, enliven, freshen, recoup, exhilarate, recover, recharge, invigorate, renew, rally, restore, resuscitate, rejuvenate

dampen, deter, dishearten, ban, depress, restrain, dissuade, bar, avert, discourage, prevent, check, daunt, admonish, chill, inhibit, disincline, intimidate, derail, deflect

Usage examples:

• The next evening the pair of last night would be contemptuously ignored, and a fresh couple dangled at the end of a string as long as their antics were novel enough to divert. - "Carnival", Compton Mackenzie.
• I let her be; it's never safe to divert the current of a woman's thoughts. - "The Lost Valley", J. M. Walsh.
• At all events I resolved to withdraw Carlotta from his influence, put her in fresh surroundings, and allow her to mix more freely among men and women, so as to divert and possibly improve her mind. - "The Morals of Marcus Ordeyne", William J. Locke.