avoid

American  

[uh-void] / əˈvɔɪd /

verb (used with object)

1. to keep away from; keep clear of; shun.

   to avoid a person;

   to avoid taxes;

   to avoid danger.

   Synonyms:

   dodge, elude, evade

   Antonyms:

   encounter, face, confront

2. to prevent from happening.

   to avoid falling.

3. Law. to make void or of no effect; invalidate.

4. Obsolete. to empty; eject or expel.

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avoid British  

/ əˈvɔɪd /

verb

1. to keep out of the way of

2. to refrain from doing

3. to prevent from happening

   to avoid damage to machinery

4. law to make (a plea, contract, etc) void; invalidate; quash

5. obsolete to expel

6. obsolete to depart from

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Related Words

Avoid, escape mean to come through a potentially harmful or unpleasant experience, without suffering serious consequences. To avoid is to succeed in keeping away from something dangerous or undesirable: to avoid meeting an enemy. Escape suggests encountering peril but coming through it safely: to escape drowning.

Other Word Forms

• avoidable adjective
• avoidably adverb
• avoider noun
• nonavoidable adjective
• nonavoidableness noun
• nonavoidably adverb
• unavoiding adjective

Etymology

Origin of avoid

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English avoiden, from Anglo-French avoider, equivalent to a- ⁴ ( def. ) + void ( def. )

Example Sentences

"I can give the reassurance that we're doing everything possible to avoid people who are a risk to anybody - women and children or otherwise - joining the organisation or staying in this organisation," he said.

From BBC

“We were genuinely trying to de-escalate things and avoid a much worse outcome, but I think it just looked opportunistic and sloppy.”

From MarketWatch

"I think the strategy is more about what they want to avoid than about exactly what they want to achieve."

From Barron's

Some people, like Anna Shilanski, are choosing to spend their nights underground to avoid having to wake up and rush downstairs when air raid sirens wail in the wee hours.

From Barron's

With grid equipment still constrained and data-center load forecasts climbing, that segment has so far avoided the pricing squeeze hitting some renewable-adjacent names.

From Barron's

Related Words

• avert
• bypass
• dodge
• escape
• evade
• fend off
• shun
• sidestep