Veer

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /vɪə̯/

Definitions

1. To change direction suddenly or swerve away from a previous course or path
2. To shift direction quickly and unexpectedly from a straight course
3. To alter one's path or heading in a sudden manner

Etymology: Sailors gave "veer" its first meaning. In Middle Dutch, "vieren" meant to slacken a rope or let it out gradually, and English borrowed it as a nautical term for letting out a line or turning a ship away from the wind. The sense of a ship changing course was the original one, long before the word described any sudden swerve on land. The verb took on its broader sense of changing direction from a second source. English also borrowed from Middle French "virer," meaning to turn or wheel about, and the two streams merged into one word. Over time the nautical image of a vessel slowly swinging around faded into a general meaning of altering course, and today the word is used for everything from a car drifting across a lane to a conversation shifting topic.

Synonyms: swerve, bend, diverge, turn, change

Antonyms: stay, remain, continue, persist, hold