détourner

to divert, to reroute, to misappropriate, to embezzle

d e . t u ʁ . n e

dé removal or reversal + tourner to turn

verb Rare #35,515

to divert, to reroute

FR: On va détourner la circulation pendant les travaux.

EN: We’re going to reroute traffic during the roadworks.

to misappropriate, to embezzle Often used for illegally taking money or resources (e.g., public funds).

FR: Il ne faut pas détourner l’argent public.

EN: You must not embezzle public money.

Conjugation of détourner

Past

Indicative present

	Singular	Plural
First	détourne	—
Third	détourne	—

Subjunctive present

	Singular	Plural
First	détourne	—
Third	détourne	—

Imperative

	Singular	Plural
Second	détourne	—

détourner

Indicative past

	Singular	Plural
Third	détourna	—

Didn't you know they wanted to hijack this plane?

— Femmes au bord de la crise de nerfs (1988)

Could you please look away?

Easy to hijack the emergency radio in a dump like this.

— Your Name. (2016)

He just hijacked the song.

— La La Land (2016)

Misusing a baby box for trafficking.

— Les Bonnes étoiles (2022)

I’m going to distract them.

— La vie est belle (1997)

I tried to distract them, but it didn't work.

Sounds similar to