parry

verb

1. To avoid, deflect, or ward off (an attack, a blow, an argument, etc.).

   “One had to be on one's guard when thus confronted and, in the course of my numerous meetings with him, I had on occasion to exercise all my wits and be prepared at a moment's notice to parry a very awkward question, to which I would much rather have given a considered reply.”

   “Wojciech Szczesny was then called into action twice in a minute to parry fierce drives from Djebbour and Torossidis as Arsenal's back four looked all at sea.”

noun

1. A defensive or deflective action; an act of parrying.
2. A simple defensive action designed to deflect an attack, performed with the forte of the blade.
3. A defensive move intended to change the direction of an incoming strike to make it miss its intended target, rather than block and absorb it; and typically performed with an open hand in a downward or sideways slapping motion.