AVOIDED Synonyms: 133 Similar and Opposite Words

avoided

verb

past tense of avoid

as in evaded

to get or keep away from (as a responsibility) through cleverness or trickery trying to avoid writing thank-you notes for the gifts he didn't like

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in abolished

to put an end to by formal action asked the court to avoid the contract because it was signed under duress

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of avoided Outside of the ring, Knight avoided Reigns’ attempt to spear him through the barricade. — Ryan Gaydos Outkick, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2026 But the team largely avoided the crowds by taking a back road into the stadium. — ABC News, 11 Oct. 2026 Part of the costs could be avoided by using holes that are already in the ground. — Moones Alamooti, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2026 Trump has mostly hopscotched across deep-red corners of the nation in recent weeks and avoided most traditional battleground states and swing congressional districts. — Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 8 Oct. 2026 Then Baldwin avoided chasing a pair of sliders to even the count. — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2026 Mainstream political parties previously avoided publicly advocating for a return to the European Union out of concern over alienating voters in pro Brexit regions and exacerbating societal polarization. — CNBC, 2 Oct. 2026 Despite the failure of an upper stage engine, an abort was avoided, allowing the spacecraft to reach orbit and deploy 26 Starlink satellites. — New Atlas, 29 Sep. 2026 Kathryn, who has avoided speaking to journalists until now, says that she’s been fielding calls since minutes after Charlie was shot. — Clara Molot, Vanity Fair, 29 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for avoided

Verb

Last year, a Houthi missile evaded Israel’s vaunted air defenses and impacted near Ben Gurion airport.

— Tim Lister, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2026
State police said evidence was located at the scene which indicated that a 2022 Triumph Rocket 3 GT, operated by 56-year-old Alexander Rivera of Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania, was struck by vehicle that allegedly evaded the scene.

— Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of evaded

Verb

Although California had technically abolished slavery in its 1849 constitution, no legal authority troubled Smith about his human property.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026
Twenty-three states have abolished it, and three besides California have a moratorium.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of abolished

Verb

On the first day of his second term, the Republican president repealed a Biden-era executive order aimed in part at guarding against the risks that AI systems pose to consumers, workers and national security.

— Garance Burke, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026
In the last decade, four states have repealed the death penalty, and another, Washington, took this sanction off its statutes after the state Supreme Court struck it down.

— Patrik Jonsson, Christian Science Monitor, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of repealed

Verb

The Vatican had originally estimated a weeklong hospital stay, and had canceled his audiences through Tuesday.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 17 Oct. 2026
In a sign of the impact on the party, MK canceled its flagship Siyathatha rally less than three weeks before South Africa’s municipal elections.

— Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of canceled

Verb

Oregon’s Lanning compares UCLA to national champs Oregon coach Dan Lanning dodged questions this past week about the health of quarterback Dante Moore following a brutal hit during a win over USC by trying to focus on UCLA.

— Marisa Ingemi, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026
Each time the door shut behind the man, Shawn had the feeling that some danger had been temporarily dodged, some crisis averted until the next day.

— Rachel Heng, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of dodged

Verb

In February, the High Court ruled it unlawful and disproportionate, but the Court of Appeal overturned that ruling in June.

— Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 15 Oct. 2026
Last year, Palestine Action’s co-founder Huda Ammori ⁠challenged the ban and the High Court ruled in her favor in February, before the Court of Appeal overturned that decision in June.

— CNN Money, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of overturned

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avoided

avoiding

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Style

“Avoided.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/avoided. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of avoided

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