derivar (hacia)
verbCEFR B2
What does “derivar (hacia)” mean in English?
to drift, to move gradually in an unintended direction
to drift, to move gradually in an unintended direction (derivar hacia — figurative, of projects, conversations, relationships)
Example sentences
Sin una estrategia clara, el proyecto fue derivando hacia objetivos cada vez más difusos que nadie supo resolver.
Without a clear strategy, the project gradually drifted towards increasingly vague objectives that nobody was able to resolve.
La conversación derivó hacia temas políticos que nadie había previsto cuando se sentaron a cenar.
The conversation drifted towards political topics that nobody had anticipated when they sat down to dinner.
Su carrera derivó de la medicina hacia la divulgación científica de manera casi involuntaria.
His career drifted from medicine towards science communication in an almost involuntary way.
How to use it
Derivar (hacia) in its figurative drift sense means 'to drift', 'to veer towards', or 'to gradually move in an unintended direction'. Frame: derivar hacia + noun. Used of projects, conversations, relationships, or careers that stray from their original course. Distinct from the workplace sense (derivar un asunto = redirect/refer a matter) and the linguistic sense (derivar de = be derived from).
Common mistake
This figurative drift sense (derivar hacia = drift towards) is distinct from: (1) derivar un asunto (redirect/refer, workplace); (2) derivar de (be derived from, linguistic/logical); (3) a la deriva (adrift, set phrase). The preposition for drift is hacia; for 'be derived from' it is de.