AVERT
What does "AVERT" mean?
To turn away (one's eyes or thoughts), or to prevent something bad from happening.
Meanings
- To prevent or ward off an undesirable event. Quick thinking by the pilot averted a disaster.
- To turn away (especially the eyes, face, or attention). She averted her gaze from the wreckage.
Did you know?
- 'Avert' literally means 'to turn away': Latin 'ab-' (away) plus 'vertere' (to turn) - the same spinning root that powers convert, divert, reverse, and vertigo.
Word origin
From Latin 'avertere', 'to turn away', from 'ab-' ('away') plus 'vertere' ('to turn'); the same 'vertere' root behind 'convert', 'reverse', and 'vertigo'.
Remember it
AVERT = A-VERT; 'vert' is Latin for turn (as in convert, reverse). To avert is to turn trouble away.
A little poem
The hand on the wheel turns half an inch-
the headlights swing clear of the child.
Catastrophe is often this quiet.
tercet
Wordplay
- I tried to avert my eyes from the abstract painting, but the gallery had hung it on the ceiling - there was no turning away.
What it teaches
The disasters that never happen are real work that never gets thanked.
Quick facts
What does AVERT mean?
To turn away (one's eyes or thoughts), or to prevent something bad from happening.
Is AVERT a valid word?
Yes — AVERT is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is AVERT?
AVERT has 5 letters and 2 syllables.
Where does AVERT come from?
From Latin 'avertere', 'to turn away', from 'ab-' ('away') plus 'vertere' ('to turn'); the same 'vertere' root behind 'convert', 'reverse', and 'vertigo'.
What can AVERT teach us?
The disasters that never happen are real work that never gets thanked.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.