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

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Thanks to their collective efforts, well over one million child deaths were averted. Jennifer Lotito, Forbes.com, 2 July 2025 In November, the city transit system averted a strike when the parties agreed to a one-year contract with 5% raises. Preston Fore, Fortune, 2 July 2025 Yes, there’s that scene in Arrival where global nuclear war is narrowly averted by a linguistics lecture, which is kind of funny — but probably not intentionally. Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 28 June 2025 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that vaccinating children born from 1994 to 2023 will avert 508 million illnesses and 1,129,000 premature deaths. Jake Scott, The Conversation, 26 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for avert

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of avert was circa 1563

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Avert.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/avert. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

avert

verb
1
: to turn away
avert one's eyes
2
: to keep from happening
averted an accident

More from Merriam-Webster on avert

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