avoid
Use Avoid in a sentence
verb (used with object)
1.
to keep away from; keep clear of; shun: to avoid a person; to avoid taxes; to avoid danger.
2.
to prevent from happening: to avoid falling.
3.
Law. to make void or of no effect; invalidate.
4.
Obsolete. to empty; eject or expel.
Origin:
1250–30; Middle English avoiden < Anglo-French avoider, equivalent to a- a-4 + voider to void
1250–30; Middle English avoiden < Anglo-French avoider, equivalent to a- a-4 + voider to void
Related forms
a·void·a·ble, adjective
a·void·a·bly, adverb
a·void·er, noun
non·a·void·a·ble, adjective
non·a·void·a·ble·ness, noun
Synonyms
1. evade, elude, dodge.
1. evade, elude, dodge.
Antonyms
1. confront, face, encounter.
1. confront, face, encounter.
Synonym Study
1. Avoid, escape mean to come through a potentially harmful or unpleasant experience, without suffering serious consequences. To avoid is to succeed in keeping away from something dangerous or undesirable: to avoid meeting an enemy. Escape suggests encountering peril but coming through it safely: to escape drowning.
1. Avoid, escape mean to come through a potentially harmful or unpleasant experience, without suffering serious consequences. To avoid is to succeed in keeping away from something dangerous or undesirable: to avoid meeting an enemy. Escape suggests encountering peril but coming through it safely: to escape drowning.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To avoid
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Avoid
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is kibitz. Does it mean:
| to bark; yelp. |
| chat, to converse |
Collins
World English Dictionary
avoid (əˈvɔɪd) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to keep out of the way of |
| 2. | to refrain from doing |
| 3. | to prevent from happening: to avoid damage to machinery |
| 4. | law to make (a plea, contract, etc) void; invalidate; quash |
| 5. | obsolete to expel |
| 6. | obsolete to depart from |
| [C14: from Anglo-French avoider, from Old French esvuidier, from vuidier to empty, | |
| a'voidable | |
| —adj | |
| a'voidably | |
| —adv | |
| a'voider | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
avoid
c.1300, from Anglo-Fr. avoider "to clear out, withdraw (oneself)," from O.Fr. esvuidier "to empty out," from es- "out" + vuidier "to be empty," from voide "empty, vast, wide, hollow, waste" (see void). Originally a law term; modern sense of "have nothing to do with" also was
in M.E. and corresponds to O.Fr. eviter with which it was perhaps confused. Meaning "escape, evade" first attested 1520s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
The patients can now avoid obstacles even in dim light, read large print and recognize people's faces.
Most animal species in the world have developed camouflage that helps them find food and avoid being attacked by a predator.
Its second goal is to avoid enriching bank shareholders at the expense of taxpayers.
They don't want to be blamed for bad outcomes, so they are willing to do bad things to avoid them.
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