divert

/də-ˈvərt/

Middle English diverten "to turn in a certain direction, turn away, direct one's mind," borrowed from Middle French & Medieval Latin; Middle French divertir, borrowed (with conjugation change) from Medieval Latin dīvertere "to turn aside, deflect, alienate (property), depart," continuing both Latin dīvertere "to separate oneself (from), be different, diverge" (from dī-, variant before voiced sounds of dis- dis-vertere "to cause to revolve, turn, spin") and dēvertere "to turn away, divert, make a turn aside/detour," from dē- de-vertere

verb

  1. to turn aside : deviate

  2. to turn from one course or use to another : deflect

  3. distract

studied law but diverted to diplomacy

amuse divert entertain mean to pass or cause to pass the time pleasantly. amuse suggests that one's attention is engaged lightly. divert implies distracting attention from worry or routine occupation especially by something funny.

idiom

  1. to try to keep people from noticing or thinking about something

He was trying to divert/distract attention away from his friend's mistake.