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.

---

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

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

Even if that tragedy was averted, the triumphant rescue underlined the risk American forces still face in Iran.

From BBC • Apr. 6, 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

That still might happen—but only because the U.S. narrowly averted disaster.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026

“There isn’t anything new,” the chaplain replied with averted eyes.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller