averted
Americanadjective
-
turned away or aside.
The angle of the head, the averted eyes, and the position of the mouth all serve to give up our secrets because they so easily reveal our feelings.
-
warded off; prevented.
An averted foreign-policy disaster is often invisible, so the officers responsible often miss out on professional recognition.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of averted
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.
Los Angeles school officials announced on Sunday morning that a tentative agreement has been reached with the teachers union — making it possible that a planned Tuesday strike could be averted.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026
As with last spring’s trade war, the Barclays research team, headed up by Ajay Rajadhyaksha, believes the worst-case scenario is likely to be averted.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 26, 2026
Det Supt Paul Greenwood, head of investigations for Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said he had never seen an attack so narrowly averted.
From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026
San Diego on Friday averted a one-day teachers strike planned later this month over union demands for more special education staffing.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026
They seemed to believe she was no longer worthy of their attention or maybe that it was wrong to look at her now, that there was something perverse about it, and they averted their gaze.
From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez
![]()
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.