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avert

verb

Simple meaning

To stop something bad from happening.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

uhvurt

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

əˈvɝt

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. Prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening

  2. transitive

    To ward off, or prevent, the occurrence or effects of.

  3. transitive

    To turn aside or away.

    “They averted their eyes when the King entered.”

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C1 · Advanced
Frequency
Uncommon
Typical Use
Primarily written

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening

Used this way, avert is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use avert

  • “They averted their eyes when the King entered.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

avert evilgod avertthus avertheaven averthelped avert

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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

  • deflect

    Prevent the occurrence of.

  • stave off

    To prevent something from happening.

  • avoid

    To try not to do something or to have something happen.

  • ward off

    To avert or prevent.

  • debar

    To hinder or prevent.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: prevent the occurrence of

turn awaystave offward off

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.