1. An action that takes another person's attention away from something else: The rainbow in the sky was a beautiful diversion for the children while their parents were driving on the highway.
2. A change in the purpose or the use of something from what was intended or from what it was previously: While she was baking in the kitchen, Sarah saw a package of chocolate chips that became a welcome diversion of the kind of cookies she was thinking about baking; which was, chocolate chip instead of peanut butter.
3. A change in the direction or the path of something: The rock slide in the mountains caused a diversion of traffic along the nearby highway.
4. An activity or interest that takes a person's mind off more routine or serious things: Jason joined a golf club as a diversion from the pressures of his work at the bank.
5. An action aimed at distracting the attention of others from the place of an intended destination: When the children were playing hide and seek in the park, Elaine tossed a stone into the bushes to create a noisy diversion while she ran to hide behind a park bench.
6. Etymology: from Middle French diversion, from Late Latin diversionem, diversio and from Latin divertere, "in different directions"; blended with devertere, "to turn aside,"; from dis-, "aside" and de-, "from" + vertere, "to turn". © ALL rights are reserved.

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