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
This comes as Actors’ Equity reached a tentative agreement with the Broadway League, the trade association for producers and general managers, Saturday over a new contract, averting the possibility of a strike.
—Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2025
The government has also followed through on Vought’s earlier threat to fire a massive number of civil servants if the shutdown were not averted.
—Andy Kroll, ProPublica, 20 Oct. 2025
Since then, a nonprofit called Mirror Biology Dialogues Fund has sponsored a series of meetings to develop recommendations aimed at averting the threat scientists think mirror life could pose.
—Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2025
Motions by the far-left and far-right both failed, averting the possibility of snap parliamentary elections.
—Ben Smith, semafor.com, 17 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for avert
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Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2025
The government has also followed through on Vought’s earlier threat to fire a massive number of civil servants if the shutdown were not averted.
—Andy Kroll, ProPublica, 20 Oct. 2025
Since then, a nonprofit called Mirror Biology Dialogues Fund has sponsored a series of meetings to develop recommendations aimed at averting the threat scientists think mirror life could pose.
—Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2025
Motions by the far-left and far-right both failed, averting the possibility of snap parliamentary elections.
—Ben Smith, semafor.com, 17 Oct. 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 23 Oct. 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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