avert

See also: avért

English

Etymology

From Middle English averten, adverten, from Old French avertir (“turn, direct, avert; turn the attention, make aware”), from Latin āvertere, from ad + vertō (“to turn”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /əˈvɝt/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /əˈvɜːt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)t

Verb

avert (third-person singular simple present averts, present participle averting, simple past and past participle averted)

1. (transitive) To turn aside or away.

   I averted my eyes while my friend typed in her password.

   • 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Unity in Religion”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC:

     When atheists and profane persons do hear of so many discordant and contrary opinions in religion, it doth avert them from the church.

2. (transitive) To ward off, or prevent, the occurrence or effects of.

   Synonym: forestall

   How can the danger be averted?

   • 1700, Matthew Prior, Carmen Seculare. for the Year 1700:

     Till ardent prayer averts the public woe.

   • 1958 February, David Gunston, “Railways on the Screen”, in Railway Magazine, page 90:

     Indeed, there was some highly questionable jiggery-pokery with couplings and continuous brakes in this agreeable story, which featured Moore Marriott as an old driver who averts a disaster on his last run.

3. (intransitive, archaic) To turn away.
   • a. 1749 (date written), James Thomson, “Spring”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768, →OCLC:

     Cold and averting from our neighbour's good.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:hinder

Derived terms

• avertable
• averter (agent noun: epicene or masculine)
• avertible
• avertress (agent noun: feminine)

Translations

to turn aside

• Bulgarian: отклонявам (bg) (otklonjavam)
• Czech: odvrátit pf
• Dutch: ontwijken (nl)
• Esperanto: forturni
• Finnish: kääntää poispäin
• French: détourner (fr)
• German: abwenden (de)
• Greek: αποστρέφω (el) (apostréfo)
• Hindi: टालना (hi) (ṭālnā)
• Hungarian: elfordít (hu)
• Icelandic: snúa frá, snúa undan, beina frá, snúa sér undan, líta undan
• Italian: distogliere (it)
• Korean: 돌리다 (ko) (dollida)
• Macedonian: о́дврати (ódvrati)
• Māori: kaupare, kaupapare
• Russian: отводи́ть (ru) impf (otvodítʹ), отвести́ (ru) pf (otvestí)
• Spanish: apartar (es), desviar (es)
• Swedish: vända bort

to ward off

• Bulgarian: отблъсквам (bg) (otblǎskvam), отбивам (bg) (otbivam)
• Czech: odvrátit pf, zabránit (cs) pf, předejít (cs) pf
• Dutch: voorkomen (nl), verhinderen (nl)
• Finnish: estää (fi), ehkäistä (fi)
• French: prévenir (fr)
• German: abwenden (de), verhindern (de)
• Greek: αποτρέπω (el) (apotrépo), αποσοβώ (el) (aposovó)
• Hindi: रोकना (hi) (roknā)
• Hungarian: elhárít (hu), elkerül (hu), kivéd (hu), megakadályoz (hu)
• Icelandic: afstýra, koma í veg fyrir
• Italian: evitare (it)
• Korean: 방지하다 (ko) (bangjihada)
• Macedonian: спре́чи (spréči), о́дврати (ódvrati), и́збегне (ízbegne), о́дбегне (ódbegne), о́дбие (ódbie)
• Malayalam: ഒഴിവാക്കുക (ml) (oḻivākkuka), അകറ്റുക (ml) (akaṟṟuka)
• Māori: wawao, araarai, ārai, parepare, papare, pare
• Russian: отража́ть (ru) impf (otražátʹ), отрази́ть (ru) pf (otrazítʹ), отбива́ть (ru) impf (otbivátʹ), отби́ть (ru) pf (otbítʹ), пари́ровать (ru) impf or pf (parírovatʹ), (to prevent) отвраща́ть (ru) impf (otvraščátʹ), отврати́ть (ru) pf (otvratítʹ), предотвраща́ть (ru) impf (predotvraščátʹ), предотврати́ть (ru) pf (predotvratítʹ)
• Spanish: evitar (es), impedir (es), prevenir (es)

References

• “avert”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• tarve, trave, Trave, Vater

Lombard

Etymology

Akin to aperto, from Latin apertus. Compare French ouvert.

Adjective

avert

1. open (not closed)

Romansch

Alternative forms

• aviert (Sursilvan, Sutsilvan, Puter)

Etymology

From Latin apertus.

Adjective

avert m (feminine singular averta, masculine plural averts, feminine plural avertas)

1. (Rumantsch Grischun, Surmiran, Vallader) open

Related terms

• avrir