veer

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
veer
    v 1: turn sharply; change direction abruptly; "The car cut to
         the left at the intersection"; "The motorbike veered to the
         right" [syn: {swerve}, {sheer}, {curve}, {trend}, {veer},
         {slue}, {slew}, {cut}]
    2: shift to a clockwise direction; "the wind veered" [ant:
       {back}]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Veer \Veer\, v. t.
   To direct to a different course; to turn; to wear; as, to
   veer, or wear, a vessel.
   [1913 Webster]

   {To veer and haul} (Naut.), to pull tight and slacken
      alternately. --Totten.

   {To veer away} or {To veer out} (Naut.), to let out; to
      slacken and let run; to pay out; as, to veer away the
      cable; to veer out a rope.
      [1913 Webster]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Veer \Veer\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Veered}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Veering}.] [F. virer (cf. Sp. virar, birar), LL. virare;
   perhaps fr. L. vibrare to brandish, vibrate (cf. {Vibrate});
   or cf. L. viriae armlets, bracelets, viriola a little
   bracelet (cf. {Ferrule}). Cf. {Environ}.]
   To change direction; to turn; to shift; as, wind veers to the
   west or north. "His veering gait." --Wordsworth.
   [1913 Webster]

         And as he leads, the following navy veers. --Dryden.
   [1913 Webster]

         an ordinary community which is hostile or friendly as
         passion or as interest may veer about.   --Burke.
   [1913 Webster]

   {To veer and haul} (Naut.), to vary the course or direction;
      -- said of the wind, which veers aft and hauls forward.
      The wind is also said to veer when it shifts with the sun.
      [1913 Webster]
    
from Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
218 Moby Thesaurus words for "veer":
      L, aberrancy, aberration, about ship, alter, ameliorate, angle,
      angle off, apex, avert, back and fill, be changed,
      be converted into, be renewed, bear away, bear off,
      bear to starboard, beat, beat about, bend, bent, bias, bifurcate,
      bifurcation, bight, bottom out, box off, branch, branch off,
      branching off, break, bring about, bring round, cant, cant round,
      cast, cast about, change, change course, change the bearing,
      change the heading, checker, chevron, chop, chop and change,
      circuitousness, coin, come about, come around, come round, corner,
      crank, crook, crotchet, curve, declination, deflect, deflection,
      degenerate, depart from, departure, deteriorate, detour, deviance,
      deviancy, deviate, deviation, deviousness, digress, digression,
      discursion, divagate, divagation, divaricate, divarication,
      diverge, divergence, diversify, diversion, divert, dogleg, double,
      double a point, draw aside, drift, drifting, ease off, edge,
      edge off, elbow, ell, errantry, excursion, excursus, exorbitation,
      fetch about, flop, fly off, fork, furcate, furcation, gee, glance,
      glance off, go about, go crabwise, go off, go sideways, gybe,
      hairpin, haul around, haw, head off, heave round, heel, hook,
      improve, indirection, inflection, jib, jibe, jibe all standing,
      knee, lateral, lateralize, lurch, make leeway, make way for,
      meliorate, miss stays, mitigate, modulate, move aside, mutate,
      nook, oblique, obliquity, pererration, pivot, pivot about, ply,
      point, put about, put back, quoin, rambling, revive, round,
      round a point, sheer, sheer off, shift, shifting, shifting course,
      shifting path, shove aside, shunt, shy, shy off, side, sideslip,
      sidestep, sidetrack, sidle, skew, skid, slant, slew, slue, spin,
      steer clear of, step aside, straying, sway, sweep, swerve,
      swerving, swing, swing round, swing the stern, swinging, switch,
      swivel, tack, take a turn, throw about, trend, turn, turn about,
      turn around, turn aside, turn away, turn back, turn into,
      turn round, turn tail, turn the corner, turning, twist,
      undergo a change, variation, vary, veer around, veer off, vertex,
      wandering, warp, wear, wear ship, wheel, wheel about, whirl, wind,
      worsen, yaw, zag, zig, zigzag

    

[email protected]