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
On Saturday’s episode of The Excerpt podcast: A government shutdown has been averted.
—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2025
That would-be crisis was averted, but the scare added to a history of flooding disasters that have plagued those communities.
—Jake Goodrick, Sacramento Bee, 15 Mar. 2025
Meanwhile, Congress averted a government shutdown on Friday evening, passing a bill that will fund the government through September.
—The Editors, The Atlantic, 15 Mar. 2025
In addition to North Carolina’s red-wolf crossings, the program has awarded grants for nearly three dozen projects — some of which will aid imperiled species such as ocelots and desert tortoises, many more that will seek to avert dangerous crashes with large mammals like deer, elk, and moose.
—Ben Goldfarb, Vox, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for avert
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Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2025
That would-be crisis was averted, but the scare added to a history of flooding disasters that have plagued those communities.
—Jake Goodrick, Sacramento Bee, 15 Mar. 2025
Meanwhile, Congress averted a government shutdown on Friday evening, passing a bill that will fund the government through September.
—The Editors, The Atlantic, 15 Mar. 2025
In addition to North Carolina’s red-wolf crossings, the program has awarded grants for nearly three dozen projects — some of which will aid imperiled species such as ocelots and desert tortoises, many more that will seek to avert dangerous crashes with large mammals like deer, elk, and moose.
—Ben Goldfarb, Vox, 14 Mar. 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 22 Mar. 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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