Definition
To deviate is to leave the line everyone expected you to hold — the Latin de via means literally 'off the road'. A plane deviates from its flight path, a measurement deviates from the prediction, a person deviates from the script. The word is neutral about whether the departure is welcome; it only marks the gap from the norm. A single reading that deviates sharply from all the others is exactly what scientists call an anomaly.
Examples
- The pilot had to deviate from the planned route to avoid the storm.
- Her results deviate from the accepted model, and reviewers want to know why.
- He rarely deviates from his morning routine, however dull it looks to others.
Collocations
deviate from the norm·deviate from the plan·deviate sharply·deviate from a course
Synonyms
diverge·stray·veer·depart·digress
Antonyms
Word family
deviation (noun)·deviant (adjective)·standard deviation (noun phrase)
In TOEFL & IELTS
Common in TOEFL science and statistics contexts — 'deviate from the mean' and the noun 'standard deviation'. IELTS reading uses it for behavior and policy that breaks from a norm. Pair it with its near-synonym 'diverge', and mind the preposition: you deviate *from* something. The noun 'deviation' is just as testable as the verb.