You searched for: “divert
aver, avert, divert, evert
aver (uh VUR) (verb)
To affirm positively; to declare, to proclaim: Yes, the witness did aver that he had seen the suspect at the scene of the crime.
avert (uh VURT) (verb)
1. To turn aside, to turn away: Lucia decided to avert her head so Jack couldn't see her face.
2. To prevent, to turn away: The quick arrival of firefighters would avert a major forest fire.
divert (di VURT) (verb)
1. To turn aside from a course or direction: Traffic had to divert around the scene of the accident.
2. To distract; to turn from serious thoughts: Divert Gwen's attention by pointing up to the sky.
3. To entertain by distracting attention of someone from worrisome thoughts or concerns; to amuse or to entertain: The teacher's funny stories helped to divert the children in the class from being so noisy.
evert (i VURT) (verb)
To turn outward or inside out, as any saclike object: The doctor had to evert Kate's eyelid so he could remove the irritating grain of sand.

Essie will aver to you that the clerk at the bake shop attempted to divert her attention by getting her to avert her eyes when he had to evert the bag in which she was placing the doughnuts that Essie was buying.

divert
1. To change the route or path taken by something; such as, traffic, traveling, or a river.
2. To take someone's mind off something and to draw attention to something else.
3. To change the purpose or use of something from what it was previously.
4. To entertain by distracting attention from worrisome thoughts or cares; to amuse or to entertain someone or yourself.
5. Etymology: from Middle French divertir, from Latin divertere, "in different directions"; blended with devertere, "to turn aside" from dis-, "aside" and de-, "from" + vertere, "to turn".
This entry is located in the following unit: diversi-, divers-, divert- (page 1)
(Latin: different, separate, opposite; literally, turned away [from each other])