averted

American  

[uh-vur-tid] / əˈvɜr tɪd /

adjective

1. 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.

2. warded off; prevented.

   An averted foreign-policy disaster is often invisible, so the officers responsible often miss out on professional recognition.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of avert.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unaverted
  adjective
• avertedly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of averted

avert ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Although a potential crisis was averted, fears about the company’s management of the industrial facility remain.

From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2026

Samsung Electronics averted a strike by reaching a bonus-pay deal with its union.

From Barron's • May 22, 2026

"It is a victory in the sense that no other country in the world was able to broker the ceasefire and we were on the verge of a possible catastrophe. Pakistan averted that," says Basit.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 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

I averted my eyes, even as I felt the room contract around me.

From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi