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
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.
Looking to avert those cuts, the council slowed police hiring just as recruitment was picking up steam.
From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2026
Samsung Electronics' labour union is expected to announce Wednesday whether chip workers voted to ratify a wage deal that would deliver massive AI-linked bonuses and helped avert a major strike.
From Barron's • May 26, 2026
News that Samsung Electronics has managed to avert a strike by labor unions sparked another speculative frenzy on the South Korean stock market on Thursday.
From MarketWatch • May 21, 2026
The mobilization can’t replace the capacity of shipping or compete on cost, nor can it avert shortages of jet fuel and other energy products.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
The news reported that Polish government officials had gone to Germany to meet with that country's leadership to try to avert war.
From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson
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.
