Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To stay clear of; go around or away from.
- transitive verb To take measures so as not to meet or see (someone).
- transitive verb To prevent from happening.
- transitive verb To refrain from using, engaging in, or partaking of.
- transitive verb To refrain from (doing something).
- transitive verb Law To annul or make void; invalidate.
- transitive verb Obsolete To void or expel.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To make void; annul; make of no effect: chiefly used in legal phraseology: as, this grant cannot be avoided without injustice to the grantee.
- To empty.
- To eject; throw out; drive out.
- To quit; evacuate; depart from.
- To shun; keep away from; eschew: as, to
avoid expense, danger, or bad company. - To get rid of; get out or clear of.
- Synonyms To escape, elude, evade, keep clear of.
- To become void, vacant, or empty.
- To retire; withdraw.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb obsolete To retire; to withdraw.
- intransitive verb (Law), obsolete To become void or vacant.
- transitive verb obsolete To empty.
- transitive verb obsolete To emit or throw out; to void.
- transitive verb obsolete To quit or evacuate; to withdraw from.
- transitive verb To make void; to annul or vacate; to refute.
- transitive verb To keep away from; to keep clear of; to endeavor no to meet; to shun; to abstain from.
- transitive verb obsolete To get rid of.
- transitive verb (Pleading) To defeat or evade; to invalidate. Thus, in a replication, the plaintiff may deny the defendant's plea, or confess it, and
avoid it by stating new matter.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive To keep away from; to keep clear of; to
endeavor not to meet; toshun ; toabstain from; as, to avoid the company of gamesters. - verb transitive, obsolete To make
empty ; toclear . - verb transitive To make void, to
annul ; torefute (especially acontract ). - verb transitive, law To
defeat orevade ; toinvalidate . Thus, in a replication, the plaintiff may deny the defendant's plea, or confess it, and avoid it by stating new matter. - verb transitive, obsolete To
emit or throw out; tovoid ; as, to avoid excretions. - verb transitive, obsolete To
leave ,evacuate ; to leave as empty, towithdraw or come away from. - verb transitive (
obsolete ) To get rid of. - verb intransitive, obsolete To
retire ; to withdraw,depart ,go away . - verb intransitive (
obsolete ) To become void or vacant.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening
- verb stay clear from; keep away from; keep out of the way of someone or something
- verb refrain from certain foods or beverages
- verb declare invalid
- verb refrain from doing something
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
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Examples
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The more obvious explanation that Orin clearly wants to avoid is that now that we have President Obama, the government no longer violates the Fourth Amendment.
The Volokh Conspiracy » “Where Is the Fourth Amendment Docket?” 2010
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Right, but want you want to avoid is having one bank (Citi, BoA) that is so big that when if it has a crisis all by itself, it takes down every other otherwise healthy bank with it.
Matthew Yglesias » Volcker: Keep Banks Small Enough to Fail 2009
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If you are the press secretary to the President of the United States, the main thing to avoid is becoming the story yourself.
Ken Blackwell: "Gibbsy" Steps in it Ken Blackwell 2010
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If you are the press secretary to the President of the United States, the main thing to avoid is becoming the story yourself.
Ken Blackwell: "Gibbsy" Steps in it Ken Blackwell 2010
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If you are the press secretary to the President of the United States, the main thing to avoid is becoming the story yourself.
Ken Blackwell: "Gibbsy" Steps in it Ken Blackwell 2010
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If you are the press secretary to the President of the United States, the main thing to avoid is becoming the story yourself.
Ken Blackwell: "Gibbsy" Steps in it Ken Blackwell 2010
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The real trap to avoid is the one where he listens to rightwing goons and their fairytales.
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"The one thing we want to avoid is having a single position negatively impact the entire portfolio," he said.
It Takes Two to Tango at Janus Triton Fund Melissa Korn 2010
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One of the types I try to avoid is the "married but playful" kind: the ones that are stepping out on their spouses to indulge their preferences on the down-low.
Recommended Reading 2009
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If you are the press secretary to the President of the United States, the main thing to avoid is becoming the story yourself.
Ken Blackwell: "Gibbsy" Steps in it Ken Blackwell 2010
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