Synonym Chooser

How does the verb depart contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of depart are deviate, digress, diverge, swerve, and veer. While all these words mean "to turn aside from a straight course," depart suggests a deviation from a traditional or conventional course or type.

occasionally departs from his own guidelines

Where would deviate be a reasonable alternative to depart?

The synonyms deviate and depart are sometimes interchangeable, but deviate implies a turning from a customary or prescribed course.

never deviated from her daily routine

When could digress be used to replace depart?

While the synonyms digress and depart are close in meaning, digress applies to a departing from the subject of one's discourse.

a professor prone to digress

How do diverge and depart relate to one another?

Diverge may equal depart but usually suggests a branching of a main path into two or more leading in different directions.

after school their paths diverged

When is it sensible to use swerve instead of depart?

The meanings of swerve and depart largely overlap; however, swerve may suggest a physical, mental, or moral turning away from a given course, often with abruptness.

swerved to avoid hitting the dog

When can veer be used instead of depart?

The words veer and depart are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, veer implies a major change in direction.

at that point the path veers to the right

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of depart The flight was scheduled to depart just before 9 p.m. before being canceled, according to FlightAware.com, which tracks flights across the nation. Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 29 June 2025 Lauren Sanchez Bezos, left, and Jeff Bezos depart from the Aman hotel during wedding celebrations on June 28, 2025, in Venice, Italy. Daniel Orton, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 June 2025 Afterward, a small return capsule departed from the main spacecraft and made its way back to Earth. ArsTechnica, 27 June 2025 He was ordered removed from the U.S. and departed Thursday afternoon on a flight to Egypt, according to CBP. Jasmine Baehr, FOXNews.com, 27 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for depart
Recent Examples of Synonyms for depart
Verb
  • These hiking physical human augmentation wearables are exiting the Trough of Disillusionment, led by three factors that work in their favor: low price, influencer content, and public demonstrations.
    Borislav "Bobby" Marinov, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
  • People must exit the terminal by 10 p.m., unless meeting a late-arriving plane.
    Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 30 June 2025
Verb
  • Three weeks later, on Thursday, Isidro Perez died in U.S. Immigration and Customs custody.
    Claire Healy, Miami Herald, 1 July 2025
  • Of those deaths, the majority of firefighters died from a traumatic event related to their jobs, or a medical emergency.
    Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman, 1 July 2025
Verb
  • Wales have done well under Wilkinson to move away from a hardened reputation as being Fishlock’s team and become more of a sum of their parts.
    Megan Feringa, New York Times, 27 June 2025
  • Protests by locals, who are frustrated with overtourism and Bezos’ links to President Donald Trump, forced Bezos to move a wedding party from a central Venetian nightlife area to a more isolated part of the city, Reuters reported.
    Conor Murray, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025
Verb
  • Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was a summer visitor, as was her late son John F. Kennedy Jr., who perished in a plane crash off the coast with his wife Carolyn Bessette and sister-in-law Lauren in 1999.
    Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 27 June 2025
  • Hundreds of Israeli civilians were injured in Iranian attacks, many homes were destroyed, and a few dozen civilians were killed, including five who perished in an Iranian attack on Beersheba minutes before the cease-fire took effect.
    Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 25 June 2025
Verb
  • The transponders onboard Relay 2 stopped responding to radio signals in June 1967, after which point the satellite went silent—until last June.
    Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 June 2025
  • As the story goes, Jackson Pollock stepped onto a canvas in 1947, drizzled some paint here and there, and God reached a bony finger down from the heavens and pressed it upon the scale of art history, tilting it from Europe to the United States.
    Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 24 June 2025
Verb
  • Cumulative profits at major industrial firms fell 1.1% in the first five months of 2025, compared to a year earlier, the data showed.
    Anniek Bao, CNBC, 27 June 2025
  • When her moment came to walk the red carpet three days later, a radiant Cassie held hands with Combs, her hair styled to fall just over her injured eyebrow and eye.
    Laura Trujillo, USA Today, 27 June 2025
Verb
  • As New York closed in on Tuesday's vote, more investors got nervous as the polls showed Mamdani was leading.
    Jason Gewirtz, CNBC, 26 June 2025
  • Daniels gets his guy Aiyuk, who's the younger, and potentially better receiver.
    Michael Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 June 2025
Verb
  • While the boldest headlines tell how people are literally snatched off the streets, are being disappeared to foreign prisons, news that often receives less attention reveals that our civil liberties are also being snatched up, one by one.
    Michael Pfleger, Chicago Tribune, 29 June 2025
  • The man formerly known as Robert Prevost has somewhat disappeared ...
    Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 29 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Depart.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/depart. Accessed 7 Jul. 2025.

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