Derail vs Divert - What's the difference?
derail | divert |
A device placed on railway tracks causing a train to derail.
To cause to come off the tracks.
To come off the tracks.
To deviate from the previous course or direction.
To cause to deviate from a set course or direction.
To turn aside from a course.
* Milton
To distract.
To entertain or amuse (by diverting the attention)
* C. J. Smith
(obsolete) To turn aside; to digress.
In transitive terms the difference between derail and divert
is that derail is to cause to deviate from a set course or direction while divert is to entertain or amuse (by diverting the attention.As a noun derail
is a device placed on railway tracks causing a train to derail.derail
English
(wikipedia derail)Noun
(en noun)- The derail was placed deliberately so that the train would fall into the river.
Verb
(en verb)- The train was destroyed when it was derailed by the penny.
- The conversation derailed once James brought up politics.
- The protesting students derailed the professor's lecture.
Quotations
* (English Citations of "derail")Derived terms
* derailmentAnagrams
* * * * * English ergative verbsdivert
English
Verb
(en verb)- The workers diverted the stream away from the road.
- that crude apple that diverted Eve
- Don't let him divert your attention; keep your eye on the ball.
- We are amused by a tale, diverted by a comedy.
- I diverted to see one of the prince's palaces. — Evelyn.
