deflects

Deflects is the third-person singular present tense of the verb deflect. Deflect means to cause something to change direction by bending, turning aside, or redirecting it, or to evade or redirect attention or an attack. The noun form deflection refers to the act or result of deflecting.

In physical and engineering contexts, deflection describes the bending or displacement of an object under forces or fields. Examples include light deflected by a prism, charged particles deflected by magnetic fields, and a beam deflecting under load, often measured as a deflection angle or displacement.

In sports, a deflected shot or pass is redirected by contact with a surface or opponent. In rhetoric, to deflect a question is to redirect attention or avoid addressing the issue.

Etymology: deflect comes from Latin deflectere, from de- “away” + flectere “to bend.” Related terms include deflection, deflector, and deflective.