avert
pronunciation
How to pronounce avert in British English:
UK [əˈvɜːt]
How to pronounce avert in American English:
US [əˈvɜːrt]
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- Verb:
- prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening
- turn away or aside
Word Origin
- avert (v.)
- c. 1400, from Old French avertir (12c.), "turn, direct; avert; make aware," from Vulgar Latin *advertire, from Latin avertere "to turn away, to drive away," from ab- "from, away" (see ab-) + vertere "to turn" (see versus). Related: Averted; averting.
Example
- 1. A deal on the budget would avert impending catastrophe .
- 2. You almost want to avert your eyes .
- 3. Several measures may avert a similar fate for the yangtze porpoise .
- 4. But they did avert disaster and committed only a few big blunders .
- 5. Some had enough time to close beaches and avert mass drownings .