/əˈvɝt/, /əˈvɜːt/
OriginFrom Middle English averten, adverten, from Old French avertir (“turn, direct, avert; turn the attention, make aware”), from Latin āvertere, from ad + vertō (“to turn”).
- transitiveTo turn aside or away.
“I averted my eyes while my friend typed in her password.”
“When atheists and profane persons do hear of so many discordant and contrary opinions in religion, it doth avert them from the church.”
- transitiveTo ward off, or prevent, the occurrence or effects of.
“How can the danger be averted?”
“Till ardent prayer averts the public woe.”
“Indeed, there was some highly questionable jiggery-pokery with couplings and continuous brakes in this agreeable story, which featured Moore Marriott as an old driver who averts a disaster on his last”
- archaic, intransitiveTo turn away.
“Cold and averting from our neighbour's good.”
Formsaverts(present, singular, third-person) · averting(participle, present) · averted(participle, past) · averted(past)