criticism
Banking bosses tried to deflect criticism of their company's bonuses yesterday.
The architects deflected criticism of the tower's design, saying it struck a balance between safety and aesthetics.
It was a poorly disguised attempt to deflect criticism from themselves.
His kindly, fatherly manner tended to deflect criticism.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Avoiding action
abrogate
abrogation
avoid
avoid something like the plagueidiom
avoidance
end-run
eschew
evader
evasion
fiddle
fiddle around
insure
shirk
short circuit
shrink from something
shy away from something
sit on your arseidiom
steer
welch
Welsh