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

• avertedly
  adverb
• unaverted
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of averted

avert ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

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

From Barron's • May 22, 2026

Unified officials barely averted a strike by agreeing to significant employee raises, rescinding about 200 layoffs and agreeing to hundreds of new hires of counselors, school psychologists and other student support staff.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 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

Det Supt Paul Greenwood, head of investigations for Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said he had never seen an attack so narrowly averted.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

Now he averted his eyes, and nodded shamefacedly.

From "Tiger, Tiger" by Lynne Reid Banks