- 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
verb
- 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.
The definition of avert is to turn away or to keep something from happening.
YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2018 by LoveToKnow Corp
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"avert." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 June 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Avert>.
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avert. (n.d.). Retrieved June 16th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Avert
avert
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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MLA Style
"avert." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 June 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Avert>.
APA Style
avert. (n.d.). Retrieved June 16th, 2019, 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.
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MLA Style
"avert." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 June 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Avert>.
APA Style
avert. (n.d.). Retrieved June 16th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Avert
Verb
(third-person singular simple present averts, present participle averting, simple past and past participle averted)
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"avert." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 June 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Avert>.
APA Style
avert. (n.d.). Retrieved June 16th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Avert
Sentence Examples
- She didn't avert her gaze this time.
- But though he was unable to extract the best results from parliament he was always able to avert its worst excesses.
- One of the chief purposes for which magic was employed was ~o avert diseases.
- Perceiving, however, that she was not able unaided to avert the invasions which threatened the eastern frontier of the empire, she revoked her oath, married Romanus, and with his assistance dispelled the impending danger.
- For a while it seemed that even this would not avert a European war.
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