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avert — to turn away or aside; to prevent or ward off (an undesirable occurrence)

Part of speech: VERB

Definition: to turn away or aside; to prevent or ward off (an undesirable occurrence)

Pronunciation (IPA): /əˈvɜːrt/

Example Sentences

  • She averted her gaze when her crush walked by, pretending to study her phone intensely.
  • The company's quick apology helped avert a major PR disaster.
  • He couldn't avert his eyes from the trainwreck reality TV show, even though he knew it was terrible.

avert

VERB

[/əˈvɜːrt/]

to turn away or aside; to prevent or ward off (an undesirable occurrence)

An explorer averts her gaze as a glowing Gorgon statue catches her eye.
💡 Concept

An explorer averts her gaze as a glowing Gorgon statue catches her eye.

A(away) + VERT(turn) — deciding to VERT(turn) his head A(away), the boy tried to avert his eyes from the scary movie.
🧠 Mnemonic

A(away) + VERT(turn) — deciding to VERT(turn) his head A(away), the boy tried to avert his eyes from the scary movie.

Divert the danger, convert the path, avert disaster!
🎵 Rhyme

Divert the danger, convert the path, avert disaster!

Got the picture? Now let's practice.

🎤Pronunciation

🇺🇸 US/əˈvɜːrt/
🇬🇧 UK/əˈvɜːt/

🌳Etymology

Prefixa--
Rootvert

Origin

From Latin 'avertere', composed of 'a-' (away) and 'vertere' (to turn). This Latin verb was adopted into Old French and Middle English, eventually becoming the modern English word 'avert'.

Breakdown

a- (away) + vert (turn) = avert (to turn away)

🎵Rhyme

convert
divert
invert

🔗Collocations

avert disaster
avert one's eyes
avert a crisis
avert attention
avert conflict
narrowly avert

📝Examples

😄 Fun example

“She averted her gaze when her crush walked by, pretending to study her phone intensely.”

“The company's quick apology helped avert a major PR disaster.”

😄 Fun example

“He couldn't avert his eyes from the trainwreck reality TV show, even though he knew it was terrible.”

“The diplomat's efforts helped avert war between the two nations.”

📚Related Words

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