avert
Americanverb (used with object)
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to turn away or aside.
to avert one's eyes.
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to ward off; prevent.
to avert evil;
to avert an accident.
verb
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to turn away or aside
to avert one's gaze
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to ward off; prevent from occurring
to avert danger
Other Word Forms
- avertable adjective
- averter noun
- avertible adjective
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”
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.
Next week's strike by resident doctors in England may be averted after ministers offered the British Medical Association a fresh deal.
From BBC
Others tell stories about the race to avert calamity.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
Mass evacuations were ordered amid fears a key retaining wall could collapse, sending floodwaters rushing into communities below — a tragedy that was ultimately averted.
From Los Angeles Times
A government crisis may narrowly have been averted.
From BBC
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.
