as in prevented
to keep from happening by taking action in advance
her careful planning averted disaster
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Recent Examples of averted
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
Prosecutors described the assassination attempt as a narrowly averted, while Routh suggested his actions were a peaceful protest, reported the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Network.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 4 Feb. 2026
It’s estimated that the eradication effort has averted 100 million cases of the disease.
—Theresa Gaffney, STAT, 2 Feb. 2026
That crisis ultimately was averted, though, by the mid-November congressional compromise that temporarily reopened the federal government.
—Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 30 Jan. 2026
In the case of Meta (META) , shares recaptured the 200-day and gapped above it – crisis averted for now.
—Jay Woods, CNBC, 29 Jan. 2026
Another special skill for binocular astronomers that isn’t intuitive is averted vision.
—Jase Parnell-Brookes, Space.com, 23 Jan. 2026
The crisis was averted and the B’s scored the next four goals to win going away.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 22 Jan. 2026
For the moment, the crisis seems to have been averted.
—Thomas Wright, The Atlantic, 22 Jan. 2026
Jill Lawless The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 5 Feb. 2026
Prosecutors described the assassination attempt as a narrowly averted, while Routh suggested his actions were a peaceful protest, reported the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Network.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 4 Feb. 2026
It’s estimated that the eradication effort has averted 100 million cases of the disease.
—Theresa Gaffney, STAT, 2 Feb. 2026
That crisis ultimately was averted, though, by the mid-November congressional compromise that temporarily reopened the federal government.
—Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 30 Jan. 2026
In the case of Meta (META) , shares recaptured the 200-day and gapped above it – crisis averted for now.
—Jay Woods, CNBC, 29 Jan. 2026
Another special skill for binocular astronomers that isn’t intuitive is averted vision.
—Jase Parnell-Brookes, Space.com, 23 Jan. 2026
The crisis was averted and the B’s scored the next four goals to win going away.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 22 Jan. 2026
For the moment, the crisis seems to have been averted.
—Thomas Wright, The Atlantic, 22 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for averted
prevented
Verb
-
The initial hold-up that nearly prevented a Spanish figure skater from performing his short program, set to music from the Minions soundtrack, at the 2026 Winter Olympics was a 20-second segment at the beginning of his routine.—
Sara Germano,
Sportico.com,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Tyler Mahle had his first reasonably healthy season since 2022 and, despite some odd underlying metrics, prevented runs.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Averted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/averted. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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