avert
UK /əˈvɜːt/ · US /əˈvɝt/ verb
Forms averts averting averted
- verb (transitive) To turn aside or away. “I averted my eyes while my friend typed in her password.”
- verb (transitive) To ward off, or prevent, the occurrence or effects of. “How can the danger be averted?”
- verb (intransitive, archaic) To turn away.
Synonyms
forestall hinder debar forefend forfend obviate deflect head off stave off fend off avoid ward off turn away
Etymology
From Middle English averten, adverten, from Old French avertir (“turn, direct, avert; turn the attention, make aware”), from Latin āvertere, from ab + vertō (“to turn”).
Webster’s 1913
- verb To turn aside, or away; as, to avert the eyes from an object; to ward off, or prevent, the occurrence or effects of; as, how can the danger be averted "To avert his ire." Milton.
- verb To turn away. [Archaic]
Etymology [L. avertere; a, ab + vertere to turn: cf. OF. avertir. See Verse, n.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “avert”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details