deflection

deflection
    n 1: a twist or aberration; especially a perverse or abnormal
         way of judging or acting [syn: {deflection}, {warp}]
    2: the amount by which a propagating wave is bent [syn:
       {deflection}, {deflexion}, {refraction}]
    3: the movement of the pointer or pen of a measuring instrument
       from its zero position [syn: {deflection}, {deflexion}]
    4: the property of being bent or deflected [syn: {deflection},
       {deflexion}, {bending}]
    5: a turning aside (of your course or attention or concern); "a
       diversion from the main highway"; "a digression into
       irrelevant details"; "a deflection from his goal" [syn:
       {diversion}, {deviation}, {digression}, {deflection},
       {deflexion}, {divagation}]
    

Deflection \De*flec"tion\, n. [L. deflexio, fr. deflectere: cf.
   F. d['e]flexion.]
   1. The act of turning aside, or state of being turned aside;
      a turning from a right line or proper course; a bending,
      esp. downward; deviation.
      [1913 Webster]

            The other leads to the same point, through certain
            deflections.                          --Lowth.
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   2. (Gunnery) The deviation of a shot or ball from its true
      course.
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   3. (Opt.) A deviation of the rays of light toward the surface
      of an opaque body; inflection; diffraction.
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   4. (Engin.) The bending which a beam or girder undergoes from
      its own weight or by reason of a load.
      [1913 Webster]
    

96 Moby Thesaurus words for "deflection":
      L, S-curve, aberration, angle, apex, atmospheric attenuation, bend,
      bending, bifurcation, bight, blind spots, bow, bowing, cant,
      chevron, circuitousness, clutter, coin, conflexure, corner, crank,
      crook, crosswiseness, crotchet, declination, defile, deflexure,
      deflower, departing, departure, deviance, deviation, deviousness,
      diagonality, diffraction, diffusion, digression, dispersion,
      distortion, divagation, divergence, diversion, dogleg, elbow, ell,
      excursion, false echoes, flection, flex, flexure, force, fork,
      furcation, geanticline, geosyncline, ground clutter, hairpin turn,
      hook, indirection, indirectness, inflection, knee, meander,
      nonconformity, nook, obliqueness, obliquity, outrage, oxbow, point,
      quoin, ravish, reflection, refraction, scatter, sea clutter,
      skewness, spoil, squint, superrefraction, sweep, swerve, swerving,
      torsion, transverseness, turn, turning, twisting, vagary, veer,
      veering, vertex, violate, zag, zig, zigzag