Meaning & use
avoid
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To stay away from a person, place or thing on purpose.
Grammar: Takes an object: avoid the traffic.
Patterns
- avoid someone
- avoid something
She avoids her ex-boss whenever she can.
We took a side road to avoid the highway.
He avoids sugary drinks.
verbtransitive
To act so that something unpleasant does not happen.
Grammar: Followed by a noun or an -ing form, not an infinitive: avoid making mistakes.
Patterns
- avoid doing something
- avoid problems
Check the map to avoid getting lost.
The driver swerved to avoid an accident.
You can avoid delays by booking early.
verbtransitive
To keep from talking about or dealing with something.
Grammar: Often with a topic or question: avoid the question.
Patterns
- avoid a subject
- avoid the issue
The minister avoided the question about taxes.
They avoid talking about money.
He avoided the issue during the meeting.
Word forms
| third person singular | avoids |
|---|---|
| past tense | avoided |
| past participle | avoided |
| -ing form | avoiding |
Common combinations
- avoid doing something
- I avoid eating late at night.
- narrowly avoid
- The plane narrowly avoided a collision.
- avoid the rush
- Leave early to avoid the rush.
- avoid at all costs
- Avoid that road at all costs in winter.
- avoid contact
- Patients should avoid contact with others.
- avoid eye contact
- He avoided eye contact during the talk.
Synonyms and how they differ
- evade
- Evade suggests cleverly escaping something such as taxes or capture, often dishonestly.
- dodge
- Dodge is informal and means moving quickly or cleverly to escape something.
- shun
- Shun means avoiding someone deliberately and coldly, often for moral reasons.
- prevent
- Prevent means stopping something from happening, while avoid means keeping away from it.
Opposites
Word family
- avoidance noun
- the act of keeping away from something
- avoidable adjective
- possible to avoid
- unavoidable adjective
- impossible to avoid
- avoider noun
- someone who avoids something
Commonly confused: avoid or void? avoid or prevent?
avoid vs void
Void means empty or not valid, and avoid has an extra a, but the meanings are unrelated.
avoid vs prevent
Prevent usually means stop an event from occurring, while avoid means stay clear of it.
Practice
Complete the sentence correctly: She tried to avoid ____ the argument.
Choose one answer.
Avoid is followed by an -ing form. An infinitive, base form or past form is incorrect after avoid.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “avoid”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.