avert

a·vert

Use avert in a sentence

verb

The definition of avert is to turn away or to keep something from happening.

Looking away while watching a scary movie is an example of to avert.
Avoiding an argument by keeping quiet is an example of to avert.

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"avert." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 10 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/AVERT>.

APA Style

avert. (n.d.). Retrieved December 10th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/AVERT

avert

to turn away: to avert one's glance from an ugly sight
to keep from happening; ward off; prevent: he apologized in order to avert trouble

Origin of avert

Classical Latin avertere, to turn away from a- (ab-), from + vertere, to turn: see verse

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Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"avert." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 10 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/AVERT>.

APA Style

avert. (n.d.). Retrieved December 10th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/AVERT

avert

transitive verb

a·vert·ed, a·vert·ing, a·verts

To turn away: avert one's eyes.
To keep from happening; prevent: averted an accident by turning sharply. See Synonyms at prevent.

Origin of avert

Middle English averten from Old French avertir from Latin āvertere ā-, ab- away from ; see ab- ¹. vertere to turn ; see wer-² in Indo-European roots.

Related Forms:

a·vert′i·ble a·vert′a·ble
adjective

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"avert." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 10 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/AVERT>.

APA Style

avert. (n.d.). Retrieved December 10th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/AVERT

Verb

(third-person singular simple present averts, present participle averting, simple past and past participle averted)

To turn aside or away.
To avert the eyes from an object.
To ward off, or prevent, the occurrence or effects of.
How can the danger be averted?
(intransitive, archaic) To turn away.
(archaic) To turn away.

Anagrams

trave, Trave

Origin

From Old French avertir (“turn, direct, avert; turn the attention, make aware”), from Latin āvertere, present active infinitive of āvertō, from ab + vertō (“to turn”).

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.