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
Synonyms
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
In the year of her birth, Japan signed an agreement with President Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary of state that averted conflict with the United States in exchange for Washington recognizing Japan’s annexation of the Korean Peninsula.
—Martin Fackler, New York Times, 4 Jan. 2025
Skinner worried that our reaction to environmental catastrophe would come too late to avert it.
—Debra Hendrickson, WIRED, 4 Jan. 2025
Legislation passed via budget reconciliation, which would allow the Senate to avert the 60-vote threshold from the filibuster, would need consensus among House Republicans with their majority of 219 Republicans to 215 Democrats.
—Katherine Faulders, ABC News, 4 Jan. 2025
Then on January 5 of this year, a door plug on an Alaska Airlines MAX 9 blew out causing an uncontrolled decompression and narrowly averting another fatal accident.
—Jerrold Lundquist, Forbes, 28 Dec. 2024
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Martin Fackler, New York Times, 4 Jan. 2025
Skinner worried that our reaction to environmental catastrophe would come too late to avert it.
—Debra Hendrickson, WIRED, 4 Jan. 2025
Legislation passed via budget reconciliation, which would allow the Senate to avert the 60-vote threshold from the filibuster, would need consensus among House Republicans with their majority of 219 Republicans to 215 Democrats.
—Katherine Faulders, ABC News, 4 Jan. 2025
Then on January 5 of this year, a door plug on an Alaska Airlines MAX 9 blew out causing an uncontrolled decompression and narrowly averting another fatal accident.
—Jerrold Lundquist, Forbes, 28 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for avert
Dictionary Entries Near avert
Cite this Entry
“Avert.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/avert. Accessed 18 Jan. 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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