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definitions

avert

[ uh-vurt ]
/ əˈvɜrt /
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verb (used with object)

to turn away or aside: to avert one's eyes.
to ward off; prevent: to avert evil; to avert an accident.

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RELATED WORDS

halt, prevent, forestall, avoid, deter, foil, preclude, turn, divert, deflect, frustrate, shunt

Nearby words

  1. aversely,
  2. aversion,
  3. aversion therapy,
  4. aversive,
  5. aversive conditioning,
  6. avertin,
  7. avery,
  8. avery, milton,
  9. aves,
  10. avesta

Origin of avert

1400–50; late Middle English < Middle French avertir ≪ Latin āvertere, equivalent to ā- a-4 + vertere to turn
Related formsa·vert·ed·ly, adverba·vert·er, nouna·vert·i·ble, a·vert·a·ble, adjectiveun·a·vert·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for avert

British Dictionary definitions for avert

avert

/ (əˈvɜːt) /

verb (tr)

to turn away or asideto avert one's gaze
to ward off; prevent from occurringto avert danger
Derived Formsavertible or avertable, adjective

Word Origin for avert

C15: from Old French avertir, from Latin āvertere; see averse
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for avert

avert

v.

c.1400, from Old French avertir (12c.), "turn, direct; avert; make aware," from Vulgar Latin *advertire, from Latin avertere "to turn away, to drive away," from ab- "from, away" (see ab-) + vertere "to turn" (see versus). Related: Averted; averting.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper