avoid

[ uh-void ]
/ əˈvɔɪd /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR avoid ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to keep away from; keep clear of; shun: to avoid a person; to avoid taxes; to avoid danger.
to prevent from happening: to avoid falling.
Law. to make void or of no effect; invalidate.
Obsolete. to empty; eject or expel.

QUIZZES

DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

"The Handmaid's Tale" was required reading for many of us in school. Everyone else has probably watched the very popular and addictive TV show. Do you remember this vocabulary from the book, and do you know what these terms mean?
Question 1 of 10
decorum
the act of or need for making up one's mind.
dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.
a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.
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Origin of avoid

1250–30; Middle English avoiden < Anglo-French avoider, equivalent to a- a-4 + voider to void

synonym study for avoid

1. 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 WORDS FROM avoid

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH avoid

avoid evadeavoid ovoid

Words nearby avoid

avodire, avogadro, avogadro's constant, avogadro's law, avogadro's number, avoid, avoid like the plague, avoidance, avoidance play, avoidant, avoidant personality
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to avoided

dodge, avert, sidestep, evade, bypass, escape, shun, shy, jump, abstain, hide, shake, circumvent, divert, eschew, deflect, obviate, elude, desist, recoil

Example sentences from the Web for avoided

British Dictionary definitions for avoided

avoid
/ (əˈvɔɪd) /

verb (tr)

to keep out of the way of
to refrain from doing
to prevent from happeningto avoid damage to machinery
law to make (a plea, contract, etc) void; invalidate; quash
obsolete to expel
obsolete to depart from

Derived forms of avoid

avoidable, adjectiveavoidably, adverbavoider, noun

Word Origin for avoid

C14: from Anglo-French avoider, from Old French esvuidier, from vuidier to empty, void
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012