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
Multiple people were arrested Friday when the FBI averted a possible terrorist attack planned for Halloween weekend, Director Kash Patel said.
—
Holly Yan, CNN Money, 31 Oct. 2025
So, the tariffs will be averted.
—ABC News, 26 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
The government’s survival on Thursday averted that outcome, at least for the time being.
—Aurelien Breeden, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
This story has been corrected to show the warnings were reversed in 2015 before Congress averted a shutdown.
—Geoff Mulvihill, Twin Cities, 16 Oct. 2025
In the September 6 TikTok video, Sandra planted herself firmly in the backseat with her eyes averted, giving her owner the cold shoulder.
—Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025
Democratic elders have sought to cast blame on Republicans for the shutdown, arguing it could be averted if the GOP agreed to attach provisions to the CR enacting healthcare reforms.
—Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 11 Oct. 2025
Duane averted his eyes to avoid a direct challenging stare that might motivate the sow.
—Marguerite Reiss, Outdoor Life, 9 Oct. 2025
Holly Yan, CNN Money, 31 Oct. 2025
So, the tariffs will be averted.
—ABC News, 26 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
The government’s survival on Thursday averted that outcome, at least for the time being.
—Aurelien Breeden, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
This story has been corrected to show the warnings were reversed in 2015 before Congress averted a shutdown.
—Geoff Mulvihill, Twin Cities, 16 Oct. 2025
In the September 6 TikTok video, Sandra planted herself firmly in the backseat with her eyes averted, giving her owner the cold shoulder.
—Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025
Democratic elders have sought to cast blame on Republicans for the shutdown, arguing it could be averted if the GOP agreed to attach provisions to the CR enacting healthcare reforms.
—Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 11 Oct. 2025
Duane averted his eyes to avoid a direct challenging stare that might motivate the sow.
—Marguerite Reiss, Outdoor Life, 9 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for averted
prevented
Verb
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Earlier this month, Bush told PEOPLE that Bills quarterback Josh Allen and his wife, actress Hailee Steinfeld, have previously put on the party, but work commitments prevented Steinfeld from continuing the tradition.—
Zoey Lyttle,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
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While the government shutdown has prevented data sharing from any NASA missions that have observed the comet since October 1, the ESA’s Mars Express and ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter attempted to capture views of 3I/ATLAS in October.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
30 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Averted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/averted. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
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