Synonyms of avoiding

avoiding

verb

present participle of avoid

1

as in evading

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• evading
• escaping
• preventing
• dodging
• eliminating
• deflecting
• shunning
• eschewing
• eluding
• shaking
• circumventing
• thwarting
• ducking
• excluding
• shirking
• shuffling (out of)
• precluding
• missing
• scaping
• diverting
• averting
• obviating
• keeping clear of
• finessing
• steering clear of
• fighting shy of
• bypassing
• getting around
• staying clear of
• parrying
• banning
• weaseling (out of)
• excepting
• debarring
• warding (off)
• barring
• ruling out
• outwitting
• foiling
• outsmarting
• skirting
• frustrating
• overreaching
• outfoxing
• foxing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• seeking
• pursuing
• accepting
• embracing
• catching
• courting
• welcoming
• contracting
• incurring

2

as in abolishing

to put an end to by formal action

asked the court to avoid the contract because it was signed under duress

Synonyms & Similar Words

• abolishing
• repealing
• canceling
• overturning
• vacating
• voiding
• invalidating
• dismissing
• nullifying
• negating
• dissolving
• quashing
• withdrawing
• abrogating
• rescinding
• suspending
• annulling
• revoking
• reversing
• eliminating
• rolling back
• setting aside
• doing away with
• striking down
• abating
• removing
• rejecting
• vetoing
• nulling
• retracting
• forbidding
• prohibiting
• overruling
• recalling
• overriding
• banning
• disannulling
• erasing
• outlawing
• aborting
• eradicating
• enjoining
• calling
• disallowing
• countermanding
• dropping
• calling off
• annihilating
• liquidating
• writing off
• throwing out
• breaking down

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• enacting
• establishing
• instituting
• laying down
• passing
• founding
• validating
• legislating
• permitting
• allowing
• approving
• authorizing
• ratifying
• endorsing
• clearing
• prescribing
• ordering
• legitimizing
• warranting
• legalizing
• mandating
• formalizing
• commanding
• legitimating
• sanctioning
• decreeing

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of avoiding

With progress on the full treaty apparently stalled, international negotiations have shifted their focus to discussing responsible behavior in space, such as avoiding the accumulation of space debris. — ABC News, 5 Oct. 2026

In many cases, avoiding a bad decision is even more powerful than wanting to make a good one. — David Cozzens, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026

But other than avoiding tick bites, there’s no obvious solution. — Bob Drogin, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026

Olathe Schools prioritized boundaries that make logistical sense and a plan to close schools one time, avoiding having to close more schools again in a few years, Yeager said. — Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 3 Oct. 2026

The growing range of treatment options marks a shift from seeking a cure to focusing on avoiding the disease entirely. — Theara Coleman, TheWeek, 29 Sep. 2026

These are the transition costs buried inside the transformation of our energy and food systems, of avoiding those future degrees of warming. — Stephanie Walton, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2026

People who handle receipts at work could protect themselves by avoiding the use of sanitizer and other skin care products on their hands before work, wearing gloves or encouraging their employer to use bisphenol-free thermal paper. — Sean McCann, The Conversation, 28 Sep. 2026

The challenge here would seem to come down to avoiding any discernible pattern to develop—no small intellectual feat. — Artforum, 28 Sep. 2026