avert
Americanverb (used with object)
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averts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
averted,
past participle, past
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averting
present participle
-
to turn away or aside.
to avert one's eyes.
-
to ward off; prevent.
to avert evil;
to avert an accident.
verb
-
to turn away or aside
to avert one's gaze
-
to ward off; prevent from occurring
to avert danger
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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avertsimple
-
avertssimple
-
have avertedperfect
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has avertedperfect
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am avertingprogressive
-
are avertingprogressive
-
is avertingprogressive
-
have been avertingperfect progressive
-
has been avertingperfect progressive
Past
-
avertedsimple
-
had avertedperfect
-
was avertingprogressive
-
were avertingprogressive
-
had been avertingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of avert
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Middle French avertir, ultimately derived from Latin āvertere, equivalent to ā- a- 4 + vertere “to turn”
Explanation
To avert is to turn away or to prevent. You might avert your gaze or avert a disaster — either way, you are avoiding something. The verb avert comes from Latin roots that mean "to turn away from." Averting has that sense of deflecting, turning away, or preventing something (usually bad) from happening. You might put salt on an icy sidewalk to avert accidents, or you might avert a toddler's meltdown by supplying a lollipop.
Vocabulary lists containing avert
Of Mice and Men
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for Middle School Students, List 2
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"Of Mice and Men"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Clubs can no longer sell a player for a one-hit quick fix - either to boost spending power in one window or to avert breaches of the financial regulations.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
Perhaps the U.S. and Canada will come to some agreement in the coming days and avert more economic upheaval.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
On Monday, Carney said that talks to avert the duties were at an "intense and delicate" stage.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
But some experts believe a new strategy emerging from his administration could avert a more consequential defeat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
The news reported that Polish government officials had gone to Germany to meet with that country's leadership to try to avert war.
From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson
But for now, there’s a plan that averts shutdown impacts at the IRS.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 2, 2026
The deal is good because it averts an outcome that has become common: the conversion of a great studio into a diminished version of itself after being absorbed by a traditional rival.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 8, 2025
The settlement averts a trial that had been set to start next month.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 26, 2023
President Biden is scheduled to deliver a rare Oval Office address on Friday evening after congressional passage of legislation that narrowly averts the economic calamity of a first-ever default on the nation’s debt.
From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2023
Mrs. Koster averts her eyes, staring down at the new wedding band on her finger, and I have a new, ugly suspicion.
From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse
Whether the higher automotive tariffs can be averted is unclear.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Board member Kelly Gonez also defended the new contracts, which averted an April strike.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Compound that with domestic crises like a narrowly averted Samsung factory strike and an overall slowdown in non-tech industries, and things have become rather volatile on the peninsula.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
None of the sovereign defaults over the past decade—among them Argentina, Ecuador, Ghana, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, and Venezuela—would have been averted by a debt pause.
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026
I narrowly averted the missile, and when I reached to examine it, I found a golf ball wrapped in paper.
From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals
In May, Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube reached confidential settlements with a Kentucky school district, averting another landmark trial in the northern California city of Oakland.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
On the NYSE, new 52-week highs outpaced new lows and numbered more than 100 again, so this buy signal is still in place — narrowly averting being stopped out.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 26, 2026
California politicians and power executives were hyperfocused on averting the need for more blackouts, then took many months to figure out how to stabilize the market.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
Two 24-hour strikes by London Underground drivers will go ahead on Tuesday and Thursday, as talks aimed at averting the action have broken down, the BBC understands.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
She took her seat next to James, averting her eyes from him, too.
From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
