avert

verb

ə-ˈvərt 

averted; averting; averts

transitive verb

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

2

: to see coming and ward off : avoid

avert disaster

Synonyms of avert

• prevent

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

The path to averting a partial government shutdown The Senate is expected to take up the package as soon as next week, with dwindling time to address the remaining funding bills. —Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2026

As Congress works to avert an end-of-January government shutdown, its latest spending package would largely keep the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget intact, reports Liza Gross for Inside Climate News. —Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026

Aisha kept her eyes respectfully averted. —Literary Hub, 7 Jan. 2026

But the crisis has been averted — Rebecca explains that Sarah didn't actually set the real Golden Bag on fire. —Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 6 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Middle French avertir, from Latin avertere, from ab- + vertere to turn — more at worth

First Known Use

circa 1563, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing avert

• avert one's eyes

Rhymes for avert

• alert
• assert
• dessert
• divert
• evert
• exert
• inert
• insert
• invert
• nightshirt
• overt
• revert

Kids Definition

avert

verb

ə-ˈvərt 

1

: to turn away

avert one's eyes

2

: to keep from happening

averted an accident