averted
Americanadjective
-
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.
-
warded off; prevented.
An averted foreign-policy disaster is often invisible, so the officers responsible often miss out on professional recognition.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of averted
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.
Although financial collapse was averted, the troubles that contributed to the receivership were exacerbated over the years by leadership instability — with 11 appointed leaders over an 11-year span.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
Major conflicts were averted, and so perhaps was another gathering next year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Compound that with domestic crises like a narrowly averted Samsung factory strike and an overall slowdown in non-tech industries, and things have become rather volatile on the peninsula.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
Crisis had been averted and a last-16 tie against either Ivory Coast or Norway awaits.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
Cora averted her eyes and made her face into slate for him, as she had ever since his proposal.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
![]()
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.