as in to prevent
to keep from happening by taking action in advance
her careful planning averted disaster
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Recent Examples of avert
Continue reading … POLITICS ON THE BRINK — Senate races to avert third shutdown as DHS deal takes shape.
—
FOXNews.com, 10 Feb. 2026
In Connecticut and across New England, where talk of electricity tends to turn on highest-in-the-nation rates, the potential cold weather energy emergency faced by customers elsewhere was averted, but that success comes with a warning.
—Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 8 Feb. 2026
San Francisco Unified School District officials and the union representing roughly 6,000 educators were locked in negotiations Saturday in an effort to avert a strike that could disrupt learning for tens of thousands of students across the city.
—Da Lin, CBS News, 8 Feb. 2026
After hours of House of Commons debate, a vote was averted when the government gave in to lawmakers' anger and agreed that the Intelligence and Security Committee would decide what papers should be published, rather than a senior civil servant as Starmer had proposed.
—Jill Lawless The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for avert
FOXNews.com, 10 Feb. 2026
In Connecticut and across New England, where talk of electricity tends to turn on highest-in-the-nation rates, the potential cold weather energy emergency faced by customers elsewhere was averted, but that success comes with a warning.
—Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 8 Feb. 2026
San Francisco Unified School District officials and the union representing roughly 6,000 educators were locked in negotiations Saturday in an effort to avert a strike that could disrupt learning for tens of thousands of students across the city.
—Da Lin, CBS News, 8 Feb. 2026
After hours of House of Commons debate, a vote was averted when the government gave in to lawmakers' anger and agreed that the Intelligence and Security Committee would decide what papers should be published, rather than a senior civil servant as Starmer had proposed.
—Jill Lawless The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for avert
Recent Examples of Synonyms for avert
prevent
Verb
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The loss dropped the Celtics to 38-20, preventing them from clearing a benchmark all but three NBA champions since 1980 have cleared.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
26 Feb. 2026
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The allegations levied by Mamás de DPS first appeared in a lawsuit the group filed in 2024 seeking to prevent DPS from closing schools due to falling K-12 enrollment.—
Jessica Seaman,
Denver Post,
26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Avert.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/avert. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
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