avert

[uh-vurt]

See more synonyms for avert on Thesaurus.com

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.

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. 2018

Related Words for avert

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

Examples from the Web for avert

Contemporary Examples of avert

President Obama said Libya had to be attacked to avert a genocide in Benghazi.
Obama's New War on ISIS May Be Illegal
Eli Lake
September 11, 2014
Sometimes, even before shots are fired, Interrupters can predict and avert crisis, according to Slutkin.
Using Strategies Reserved for Disease Outbreak, Activists Try to “Cure” Urban Violence
Sarah Kunst
April 11, 2014
And they believe in tougher sanctions precisely because they want to avert war.
The Myth of the American Mullah
James Kirchick
December 14, 2013
But over the next two months, watch them avoid making tough debt choices to avert another shutdown, says Peter Beinart.
Republicans Don’t Really Care About Reducing America’s Debt
Peter Beinart
October 21, 2013
First, will Ted Cruz and/or Mike Lee let the deal move through the Senate quickly enough to avert default?
The Senate's (Hoped For) Cease-Fire
Michael Tomasky
October 15, 2013

Historical Examples of avert

If they tremble down the fine-skinned cheek, let us avert our gaze.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
I did all that in honor could be done to avert the war, but without avail.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
Help by Thine outstretched arm, and avert our sorrow from us.
Camps, Quarters and Casual Places
Archibald Forbes
She did not avert her gaze immediately, nor did he avert his.
The Foolish Lovers
St. John G. Ervine
The most it can do for us is to persuade us to avert our gaze and fix it on other objects.
Reflections
Francois Duc De La Rochefoucauld

British Dictionary definitions for avert

avert

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

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.