What does détourné in French mean?

What is the meaning of the word détourné in French? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use détourné in French.

The word détourné in French means about-turn, winding, convoluted, divert, hijack, embezzle, misappropriate, distort, twist, turn away, turn away from, deter, roundabout way, roundabout route. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word détourné

about-turn

nom masculin (demi-tour sur place) (UK)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Le demi-tour droite des militaires est un détourné.
A soldier's half-turn to the right is an about-face.

winding

adjectif (qui contourne)

(adjective: Describes a noun or pronoun--for example, "a tall girl," "an interesting book," "a big house.")
La route détournée était de fait bien plus jolie que la voie directe.
The winding route was actually much more scenic than the direct route.

convoluted

adjectif (figuré (non direct)

(adjective: Describes a noun or pronoun--for example, "a tall girl," "an interesting book," "a big house.")
Il a emprunté des chemins détournés pour devenir directeur.
He took a convoluted path to become director.

divert

verbe transitif (changer le tracé initial)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Les ingénieurs ont détourné la rivière.
The engineers diverted the river.

hijack

verbe transitif (écarter d'un chemin prévu par la force)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Les voleurs ont détourné le fourgon postal.
The thieves hijacked the post van.

embezzle, misappropriate

verbe transitif (soustraire de l'argent de façon illégale)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Le comptable a détourné des sommes considérables.
The accountant misappropriated a considerable sum of money.

distort, twist

verbe transitif (changer la finalité de)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Cet artiste a détourné des affiches publicitaires.
This artist has distorted advertising billboards.

turn away

verbe pronominal (tourner la tête de côté)

(phrasal verb, intransitive: Verb with adverb(s) or preposition(s), having special meaning and not taking direct object--for example, "make up" [=reconcile]: "After they fought, they made up.")
Elle se détourne pour cacher son fou rire.
She turns away to hide her uncontrollable laughter.

turn away from

(prendre ses distances avec [qch/qqn])

Elle s'est complètement détournée de la religion.
She has entirely turned away from religion.

deter

verbe transitif (amener [qqn] à renoncer à [qch])

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Rien ne le détournera d'épouser cette fille.
Nothing will put him off marrying this girl.

roundabout way, roundabout route

nom masculin (figuré (façon de faire indirecte) (figurative)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

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So now that you know more about the meaning of détourné in French, you can learn how to use them through selected examples and how to read them. And remember to learn the related words that we suggest. Our website is constantly updating with new words and new examples so you can look up the meanings of other words you don't know in French.

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French (le français) is a Romance language. Like Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish, it comes from popular Latin, once used in the Roman Empire. A French-speaking person or country can be called a "Francophone". French is the official language in 29 countries. French is the fourth most spoken native language in the European Union. French ranks third in the EU, after English and German, and is the second most widely taught language after English. The majority of the world's French-speaking population lives in Africa, with about 141 million Africans from 34 countries and territories who can speak French as a first or second language. French is the second most widely spoken language in Canada, after English, and both are official languages at the federal level. It is the first language of 9.5 million people or 29% and the second language of 2.07 million people or 6% of the entire population of Canada. In contrast to other continents, French has no popularity in Asia. Currently, no country in Asia recognizes French as an official language.