avert
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to turn away or aside.
to avert one's eyes.
-
to ward off; prevent.
to avert evil;
to avert an accident.
verb
-
to turn away or aside
to avert one's gaze
-
to ward off; prevent from occurring
to avert danger
Other Word Forms
- avertable adjective
- averter noun
- avertible adjective
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.
Last November, UC reached contract agreements to avert strikes by 21,000 healthcare, research and technical professionals in the University Professional and Technical Employees union and 25,000 members of the California Nurses Association.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026
Consider how often we find ourselves turning away: As we pass someone on the street asking for help, we slightly avert our eyes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026
There lies the nub of the dilemma for Qatar and the five other Gulf states facing the brunt of the backlash from a war they tried to avert through diplomacy.
From Salon • Mar. 21, 2026
If this France team play to their potential, whatever England do will not be enough to avert a fourth straight defeat.
From BBC • Mar. 14, 2026
It was not until the plane was less than ten feet from the ocean that, miraculously, Alcock was able to pull the aircraft out of the stall and avert certain death.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
