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
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have avertedperfect
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has avertedperfect 3rd person singular
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is avertingprogressive 3rd person singular
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am avertingprogressive 1st person singular
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have been avertingperfect progressive
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avertssingular 3rd person
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are avertingprogressive
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avertingparticiple
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has been avertingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
Past
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had avertedperfect
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were avertingprogressive plural
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had been avertingperfect progressive
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avertedparticiple
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was avertingprogressive singular
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avertedsimple
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.
After sub-Saharan Africa, Asia-Pacific is the region with the largest number of people living with HIV, and Thailand accounts for about 9 percent of that number, says HIV response outfit AVERT.
From Reuters • Feb. 4, 2016
AVERT*, O God, the frown of Thy indignation!
From The Canadian Elocutionist by Howard, Anna Kelsey
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.
