Swerved

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To have shifted one's path abruptly, particularly while moving, to evade an obstruction or hazard
2. To have made a sharp turn unexpectedly while in motion to avoid something in the way
3. Having altered one's course quickly and without warning often to escape a danger

Etymology: Swerve began as a word about rubbing and filing. Middle English "swerven" came from Old English "sweorfan," meaning to file, scour or polish, and its Proto-Germanic ancestor meant to wipe or mop. The move from scrubbing a surface to turning aside seems to have happened through the idea of a sweeping, wiping motion that changes direction. The sense of wandering survives in its relatives. West Frisian and Dutch cognates still mean to wander, roam or stray, and Low German "swarven" covers both swerving and wandering, which suggests the shift from rubbing to turning aside was not a sudden jump. Those cousins keep the older idea of moving about without a fixed path alive, so a swerve reads as a sudden break from a set course.

Synonyms: turned, veered, diverted, dodged, changed direction

Antonyms: continued, stayed, remained, persisted, followed