1. past tense and past participle of deflect; caused something to change direction by hitting it
2. past tense and past participle of deflect; turned aside from a purpose or course of action

Examples

• The ball deflected off the goalkeeper’s hands into the net.
• She deflected the criticism by changing the subject.
• The shield deflected the arrow away from the knight.
• He deflected attention from his mistakes by blaming others.
• The mirror deflected the laser beam toward the target.
• The politician deflected the reporter’s tough questions.
• Wind deflected the plane slightly off course.