as in to prevent
to keep from happening by taking action in advance
her careful planning averted disaster
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of avert
But the law permits force only when necessary to end an ongoing attack or to avert an imminent one.
—
Valerie Morkevicius, The Conversation, 24 Apr. 2026
The latest domino to fall is Spirit Airlines, which is on the brink of collapse with no good options to avert it.
—Elaine Parker, Oc Register, 24 Apr. 2026
Matt Duchene tied it for Dallas on a power play midway through the third period, seconds after his backcheck on Matt Boldy averted a short-handed goal that would've put Minnesota up by two.
—CBS News, 23 Apr. 2026
The deals helped avert what would have been a third strike in a decade.
—Teresa Liu, Daily News, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for avert
Valerie Morkevicius, The Conversation, 24 Apr. 2026
The latest domino to fall is Spirit Airlines, which is on the brink of collapse with no good options to avert it.
—Elaine Parker, Oc Register, 24 Apr. 2026
Matt Duchene tied it for Dallas on a power play midway through the third period, seconds after his backcheck on Matt Boldy averted a short-handed goal that would've put Minnesota up by two.
—CBS News, 23 Apr. 2026
The deals helped avert what would have been a third strike in a decade.
—Teresa Liu, Daily News, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for avert
Recent Examples of Synonyms for avert
prevent
Verb
-
Section Two of the 1965 Voting Rights Act aimed to prevent mapmakers from weakening the voting power of racial minorities by either packing them into one district or spreading them out across too many districts to have an impact.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2026
-
British monarchs are subject to rules and norms meant to prevent them from taking overtly political stands.—
Emma Caughlan,
NBC news,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Avert.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/avert. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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