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
Crises averted Americans started to panic over potential shortages.
—Laura Curtis and Josh Wingrove / Bloomberg, TIME, 4 Oct. 2024
Only reconfiguring the existing U.S. approach to deterrence in the Middle East will avert catastrophe.
—Mona Yacoubian, Foreign Affairs, 3 Oct. 2024
Scientific American spoke with Andrews about the state-of-the-art in asteroid detection and deflection techniques, the worst-case scenarios and the reasons for optimism about averting disaster.
—Lee Billings, Scientific American, 3 Oct. 2024
On Thursday, the White House called for the parties to settle their differences and avert a strike, telling CBS News that senior officials from the Labor Department and Transportation Department were working to help move negotiations along.
—Quartz Staff, Quartz, 1 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for avert 
Laura Curtis and Josh Wingrove / Bloomberg, TIME, 4 Oct. 2024
Only reconfiguring the existing U.S. approach to deterrence in the Middle East will avert catastrophe.
—Mona Yacoubian, Foreign Affairs, 3 Oct. 2024
Scientific American spoke with Andrews about the state-of-the-art in asteroid detection and deflection techniques, the worst-case scenarios and the reasons for optimism about averting disaster.
—Lee Billings, Scientific American, 3 Oct. 2024
On Thursday, the White House called for the parties to settle their differences and avert a strike, telling CBS News that senior officials from the Labor Department and Transportation Department were working to help move negotiations along.
—Quartz Staff, Quartz, 1 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for avert
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'avert.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Avert.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/avert. Accessed 13 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
avert
verb1
: to turn away
avert one's eyes
2
: to keep from happening
averted an accident
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