Literary notes about deviate (AI summary)
In literary texts, “deviate” is a versatile term used to highlight divergences from an expected course, whether literally or metaphorically. It describes physical departures from a set path—as when a route is altered by obstacles or circumstances [1, 2, 3]—and also signifies departures from established norms or personal virtues, such as a refusal to stray from orders or moral conduct [4, 5, 6]. Authors similarly employ the term to indicate a subtle shift in behavior or linguistic style, suggesting an intentional or unintentional digression from habitual practices [7, 8, 9]. In this way, “deviate” enriches narratives by underscoring the tensions between duty and freedom, order and innovation, and conformity and individuality [10, 11, 12].
- Without any apparent landmarks they would traverse hundreds of miles with their flocks, and never deviate from the right course.
— from Celebrated Women Travellers of the Nineteenth Century by W. H. Davenport (William Henry Davenport) Adams - He dares to deviate from the trodden path.
— from Discourses of Keidansky by Bernard G. Richards - No doubt the direction of the wind was here greatly influenced and made to deviate by the barriers of mountains so close at hand.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - You know by the orders you have received whether such is to be the case or not, and of course I do not wish you to deviate from your orders.
— from The Huguenot: A Tale of the French Protestants. Volumes I-III by G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James - If any soldier tried to deviate from this order he was to be punished.
— from The War of Chupas by Pedro de Cieza de León - Do not, therefore, deviate from the path of duty.
— from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1 - And, since three months more passed with no striking event, I will deviate from my usual custom and speak a little of what passed in her mind.
— from Put Yourself in His Place by Charles Reade - The stubbornness of our language has sometimes forced me to deviate from the conditional into the indicative mood.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - At this point I must reluctantly deviate to say that men of weight and high office are always a trifle ponderous when conversing with ladies.
— from Dead Souls by Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol - The beginning of salvation is to preserve the rule of a correct faith and to deviate in no respect from the constitutions of the fathers.
— from A Source Book for Ancient Church History by Joseph Cullen Ayer - It will be a pleasure if we can so far deviate from our rules as to give the required information to his lordship.”
— from Dracula by Bram Stoker - In proportion as we deviate from the strictly true, then, we sin.
— from The Right KnockA Story by Helen Van-Anderson
