averted; averting; averts
1
: to turn away or aside (the eyes, one's gaze, etc.) in avoidance
I found the sight so grotesque that I had to avert my eyes …—
John Gregory Dunne
John Gregory Dunne2
: to see coming and ward off : avoid
avert disaster
Examples of avert in a Sentence
He sped up and averted an accident.
The diplomatic talks narrowly averted a war.
an attempt to avert a strike at the plant
Recent Examples on the Web
But with a tentative deal put in place by January, which averted a second strike, the union of 45,000 dockworkers got some reprieve on automation—at least enough to maintain a certain number of jobs.
—Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 11 July 2025
Carney posted a 114-word response on X late Thursday that appeared to avert further escalation of trade tensions while striking a firm posture in defense of Canada's economic interests.
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 11 July 2025
After Moscow is obliterated, Fonda orders the nuclear destruction of New York City as atonement, hoping to avert full Soviet retaliation.
—Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 10 July 2025
To overcome various issues such as AI hallucinations and the like, AGI figures out computationally that a convergent cognitive optimization seems to avert such maladies.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 9 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for avert
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Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 11 July 2025
Carney posted a 114-word response on X late Thursday that appeared to avert further escalation of trade tensions while striking a firm posture in defense of Canada's economic interests.
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 11 July 2025
After Moscow is obliterated, Fonda orders the nuclear destruction of New York City as atonement, hoping to avert full Soviet retaliation.
—Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 10 July 2025
To overcome various issues such as AI hallucinations and the like, AGI figures out computationally that a convergent cognitive optimization seems to avert such maladies.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 9 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for avert
Cite this Entry
“Avert.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/avert. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
avert
verb1
: to turn away
avert one's eyes
2
: to keep from happening
averted an accident
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