avert

avert — verb

1. to stop a dangerous, harmful, or unwanted event before it actually happens, ofte

1.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to stop a dangerous, harmful, or unwanted event before it actually happens, often by acting just in time.

Example

Quick action by the pilot averted a serious crash near the runway.

avert + noun (event); subject often performs the saving action

The new safety rules helped avert hundreds of factory accidents last year.

avert + plural noun for repeated prevented events

Common collocations
  • narrowly avert a disaster
  • avert a crisis
  • avert a strike
  • avert war
  • barely avert collapse
Synonyms
  • prevent

    everyday and neutral; 'avert' is more formal and suggests last-minute rescue

  • avoid

    broader; can mean stay away from something, while 'avert' is specifically about heading off a bad outcome

  • forestall

    very formal; emphasises acting first to block another's plan or a likely event

  • stave off

    informal; often used for hunger, illness, or unwanted events kept back temporarily

Antonyms
  • cause

    the opposite action: making the bad event happen

  • trigger

    to start an event or chain reaction, the reverse of averting it

Grammar Patterns

avert + noun (disaster, crisis, war, accident)

Usage Note

Object must be something unwanted (disaster, crisis, strike, war, collapse). Subject is usually a person, group, or action that intervenes in time. Frequently appears with adverbs of timing such as 'narrowly', 'just', or 'barely'.

Common Mistakes

The doctor averted my headache with medicine.
The doctor cured my headache with medicine.
'avert' is for stopping something BEFORE it happens, not curing something already present.
They averted the meeting until Friday.
They postponed the meeting until Friday.
'avert' means prevent, not delay.

2. to move your eyes, face, or attention so that you are no longer looking at someo

2.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to move your eyes, face, or attention so that you are no longer looking at someone or something, usually because the sight upsets, embarrasses, or disturbs you.

Example

Vesna averted her eyes when the nurse pulled the bandage off the wound.

avert + possessive + eyes; reaction to an unpleasant sight

Beatriz averted her gaze from the crash scene as the police walked by.

avert + gaze for a more formal, literary tone

Common collocations
  • avert one's eyes
  • avert one's gaze
  • avert one's face
  • avert one's thoughts
Synonyms
  • look away

    everyday phrasal verb; 'avert one's eyes' is the formal equivalent

  • turn away

    broader physical movement; 'avert' is usually just the eyes or face

  • divert

    for thoughts or attention; 'avert' for eyes is more visual and reactive

Antonyms
  • stare

    to keep looking directly, the opposite of averting one's eyes

  • face

    to look at something directly rather than turn away from it

Grammar Patterns

avert + one's eyes / gaze / face

Usage Note

Object is almost always 'eyes', 'gaze', 'face', or sometimes 'thoughts'. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is a small physical or mental movement, not stopping a future event. Common in literary or formal writing rather than everyday speech.

Common Mistakes

She averted from the photo.
She averted her eyes from the photo.
'avert' needs an object (eyes / gaze / face); the person cannot 'avert' themselves.
He averted his ears from the loud music.
He covered his ears against the loud music.
'avert' is used for sight and attention, not hearing.

Word family

  • aversion
    nounC1
  • averse
    adjectiveC1
  • aversive
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All five verbs describe stopping something unwanted, but they differ in tone and timing. 'Prevent' is the everyday, neutral choice and works in any register: 'wash your hands to prevent illness'. 'Avert' is more formal and almost always suggests a last-minute rescue from a bad outcome, often a serious one like a crash, war, or strike. 'Avoid' is broader: you can avoid a person, a topic, or a situation by staying away from it, not necessarily by stopping it. 'Forestall' is very formal and stresses moving first, often to block someone else's likely action ('the company forestalled a takeover bid'). 'Stave off' is more informal and pictures pushing something back temporarily — hunger, sleep, bankruptcy. Compare: 'The pilot averted a crash' (dramatic rescue) vs 'Regular checks prevent crashes' (routine safeguard) vs 'The pilot avoided bad weather' (steered around it).

avert ↗prevent ↗avoid ↗forestallstave off

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • narrowly avert disaster
  • avert a crisis
  • avert one's eyes
  • avert one's gaze

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

'Avert' came into English in the late 1300s from Old French 'avertir', which itself came from Latin 'avertere', formed from 'ab-' (away) plus 'vertere' (to turn). The literal Latin idea — 'to turn away' — survives clearly in the modern sense of averting one's eyes, while the figurative sense of turning danger away gave rise to the meaning of preventing a bad event. The Latin root 'vertere' is the same one behind English words like 'reverse', 'convert', and 'version'.