détourner

French

Etymology

From dé- + tourner.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /de.tuʁ.ne/
  • (file)

Verb

détourner

  1. to divert
    Pour protéger le village des crues, ils ont dû détourner la rivière.
    They had to divert the river course to protect the village from floods.
    À cause de la météo, notre vol a été détourné sur Marseille.
    Our flight has been redirected to Marseille due to the weather.
  2. (figuratively) to distract, to divert (attention)
    Le chat avait l’œil rivé sur l’oisillon et rien ne pouvait détourner son attention.
    The cat had her eyes fixed on the bird and nothing could distract her from that.
  3. to hijack
    L’avion a été détourné par quatre pirates de l’air.
    The plane was hijacked by four skyjackers.
  4. to embezzle
    Ils ont été condamnés pour avoir détourné deux millions d’euros.
    They were charged for having embezzled two million euros.
  5. to turn aside, to turn away, to avert (from something)
    Face à cet humiliant spectacle, il a préféré détourner le regard.
    Seeing this humiliating sight, he chose to look in the other direction.
  6. (reflexive) to turn aside, to turn away
    Quand elle l’a vu, elle s’est immédiatement détournée.
    She turned away as soon as she saw him/her.

Conjugation

Derived terms

Further reading

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