as in prevented
to keep from happening by taking action in advance
her careful planning averted disaster
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Recent Examples of averted
Matt Duchene tied it for Dallas on a power play midway through the third period, seconds after his backcheck on Matt Boldy averted a short-handed goal that would've put Minnesota up by two.
—
CBS News, 23 Apr. 2026
The school district narrowly averted 100 layoffs at the end of March, and potentially 300 more by the end of the school year, with an emergency $10 million from Gaston County commissioners March 24.
—Rebecca Noel, Charlotte Observer, 21 Apr. 2026
Crisis averted, high-fives in the dugout for Hill.
—Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 19 Apr. 2026
Three Mile Island meltdown averted by technology developed at Jamestown.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 17 Apr. 2026
Baltimore averted a shutout when Gunnar Henderson’s sacrifice fly against closer Cade Smith drove in Taveras.
—ABC News, 16 Apr. 2026
The Mets averted disaster in the first inning.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 11 Apr. 2026
Despite its status as one of the world's major oil importers, China averted the worst of the energy shock caused by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz thanks to multi-year efforts to diversify its energy mix and build up reserves.
—Joseph Wilkins,sean Conlon, CNBC, 10 Apr. 2026
And if the lab finds the two samples to be a definite mismatch, an unthinkable error will have been averted at the last possible moment.
—Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 Apr. 2026
CBS News, 23 Apr. 2026
The school district narrowly averted 100 layoffs at the end of March, and potentially 300 more by the end of the school year, with an emergency $10 million from Gaston County commissioners March 24.
—Rebecca Noel, Charlotte Observer, 21 Apr. 2026
Crisis averted, high-fives in the dugout for Hill.
—Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 19 Apr. 2026
Three Mile Island meltdown averted by technology developed at Jamestown.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 17 Apr. 2026
Baltimore averted a shutout when Gunnar Henderson’s sacrifice fly against closer Cade Smith drove in Taveras.
—ABC News, 16 Apr. 2026
The Mets averted disaster in the first inning.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 11 Apr. 2026
Despite its status as one of the world's major oil importers, China averted the worst of the energy shock caused by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz thanks to multi-year efforts to diversify its energy mix and build up reserves.
—Joseph Wilkins,sean Conlon, CNBC, 10 Apr. 2026
And if the lab finds the two samples to be a definite mismatch, an unthinkable error will have been averted at the last possible moment.
—Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for averted
prevented
Verb
-
Trump has repeatedly said, including in a briefing immediately following the shooting, that the 20,000-square-foot addition would have prevented a would-be shooter from getting close to him.—
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
-
The man reportedly told others to move out of the way just before the tree fell, which the people said likely prevented more of them from being hit.—
Kathryn Prociv,
NBC news,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Averted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/averted. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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