avoid
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.
Origin of avoid
1synonym study For avoid
Other words for avoid
Opposites for avoid
Other words from avoid
- a·void·a·ble, adjective
- a·void·a·bly, adverb
- a·void·er, noun
- non·a·void·a·ble, adjective
- non·a·void·a·ble·ness, noun
- non·a·void·a·bly, adverb
- un·a·void·ing, adjective
Words that may be confused with avoid
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use avoid in a sentence
The most effective way to limit its spread in the absence of a vaccine is to avoid interacting with other people.
In 160 words, Trump reveals how little he cares about the pandemic | Philip Bump | September 17, 2020 | Washington PostTo avoid a catastrophic loss in revenue, colleges are bringing students back to campus.
Why hasn’t digital learning lived up to its promise? | Walter Thompson | September 17, 2020 | TechCrunchIt is imperative that we all continue to follow public health orders, avoid large gatherings, wear masks, and practice physical distancing.
To avoid that problem, election experts say you should sign your ballot the same way you did when you got your driver’s license or registered to vote.
ProPublica’s Pandemic Guide to Making Sure Your Vote Counts | by Susie Armitage | September 16, 2020 | ProPublicaThey posted the same lines a limited number of times to avoid automated detection by the technology companies, these people said.
Pro-Trump youth group enlists teens in secretive campaign likened to a ‘troll farm,’ prompting rebuke by Facebook and Twitter | Isaac Stanley-Becker | September 15, 2020 | Washington Post
By allowing him to live, Marshal avoided the shame of killing an unarmed heir-apparent.
England’s Greatest Knight Puts ‘Game of Thrones’ to Shame | William O’Connor | December 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut if Clinton waded into the natural gas debate, she entirely avoided the Keystone one.
Hillary Praises Fracking, Stays Silent on Keystone | David Freedlander | December 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOthers avoided eye contact as they cast their vote against the bill and quickly walked past her.
Keystone Senate Failure Is Environmental Kabuki Theater | Ben Jacobs | November 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTCumberbatch and Hunter have assiduously avoided being identified as celebrity couple until now.
Now, I think he avoided it because of something that happened a few months after he left.
And although we gabbled freely enough, MacRae avoided all mention of the persons of whom I most wished to hear.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. SinclairThe sense of bearing on to the voice, or endeavoring to push the tone by any pressure whatever, should be absolutely avoided.
Expressive Voice Culture | Jessie Eldridge SouthwickWhen it was too late, I could think of half a dozen ways we might have avoided getting held up.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. SinclairIn order that such might be avoided, I have made and am making all the efforts possible.
Hence the danger—ever to be avoided—of using classical allusions in teaching the average student.
Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
British Dictionary definitions for avoid
/ (əˈvɔɪd) /
to keep out of the way of
to refrain from doing
to prevent from happening: to avoid damage to machinery
law to make (a plea, contract, etc) void; invalidate; quash
obsolete to expel
obsolete to depart from
Origin of avoid
1Derived forms of avoid
- avoidable, adjective
- avoidably, adverb
- avoider, noun
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
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