Definitions for avoid
əˈvɔɪdavoid

Princeton's WordNet(4.50 / 4 votes)Rate this definition:

1. avoidverb

   stay clear from; keep away from; keep out of the way of someone or something

   "Her former friends now avoid her"

2. debar, forefend, forfend, obviate, deflect, avert, head off, stave off, fend off, avoid, ward offverb

   prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening

   "Let's avoid a confrontation"; "head off a confrontation"; "avert a strike"

3. avoidverb

   refrain from doing something

   "She refrains from calling her therapist too often"; "He should avoid publishing his wife's memories"

4. keep off, avoidverb

   refrain from certain foods or beverages

   "I keep off drugs"; "During Ramadan, Muslims avoid tobacco during the day"

5. invalidate, annul, quash, void, avoid, nullifyverb

   declare invalid

   "The contract was annulled"; "void a plea"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. avoidverb

   To keep away from; to keep clear of; to endeavor not to meet; to shun; to abstain from; as, to avoid the company of gamesters.

2. avoidverb

   To make empty; to clear.

3. avoidverb

   To make void, to annul; to refute (especially a contract).

4. avoidverb

   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.

5. avoidverb

   To emit or throw out; to void; as, to avoid excretions.

6. avoidverb

   To leave, evacuate; to leave as empty, to withdraw or come away from.

7. avoidverb

   To get rid of.

8. avoidverb

   To retire; to withdraw, depart, go away.

9. avoidverb

   To become void or vacant.

10. Etymology: From avoiden, from avoider, esvuidier, from es- + vuidier, from viduare, from viduus; see void.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. To AVOIDverb

   Etymology: vuider, Fr.

   1. To shun; to escape.

   The wisdom of pleasing God, by doing what he commands, and avoiding what he forbids. John Tillotson.

   2. To endeavour to shun.

   The fashion of the world is to avoid cost, and you encounter it. William Shakespeare, Much ado about Nothing.

   3. To evacuate; to quit.

   What have you to do here, fellow? pray you, avoid the house. William Shakespeare, Coriolanus.

   If any rebel should be required of the prince confederate, the prince confedederate should command him to avoid the country. Francis Bacon, Henry VII.

   He desired to speak with some few of us: whereupon six of us only stayed, and the rest avoided the room. Francis Bacon, N. Atl.

   4. To oppose; to hinder effect.

   The removing that which caused putrefaction, doth prevent and avoid putrefaction. Francis Bacon, Nat. Hist. №. 340.

2. To Avoidverb

   1. To retire.

   And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it: and David avoided out of his presence twice. 1 Sam. xviii. 11.

   2. To become void or vacant.

   Bishopricks are not included under benefices: so that if a person takes a bishoprick, it does not avoid by force of that law of pluralities, but by the ancient common law. John Ayliffe, Parergon Juris Canonici.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Avoidadjective

   to empty

2. Avoidadjective

   to emit or throw out; to void; as, to avoid excretions

3. Avoidadjective

   to quit or evacuate; to withdraw from

4. Avoidadjective

   to make void; to annul or vacate; to refute

5. Avoidadjective

   to keep away from; to keep clear of; to endeavor no to meet; to shun; to abstain from; as, to avoid the company of gamesters

6. Avoidadjective

   to get rid of

7. Avoidadjective

   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

8. Avoidverb

   to retire; to withdraw

9. Avoidverb

   to become void or vacant

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Avoid

   a-void′, v.t. to try to escape from: to shun: (law) to invalidate: (Shak.) to leave, to quit.—adj. Avoid′able.—n. Avoid′ance, the act of avoiding or shunning: act of annulling. [Pfx. a- = Fr. es = L. ex, out, and Void.]

Matched Categories

1. • Abstain
   • Cancel

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'avoid' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1275

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'avoid' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2096

3. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'avoid' in Verbs Frequency: #185

How to pronounce avoid?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say avoid in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of avoid in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of avoid in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of avoid in a Sentence

1. Lily Roberts:

   Financial institutions are fully capable of learning their own history and understanding their own roles in past injustice, next, they must work to ensure that they counter contemporary wrongs and avoid the easier instinct to think of historical context as separate from current circumstances – and be held accountable in doing so by the federal government, by shareholders, and by customers.

2. Richard Lawhern:

   My instinct is to acknowledge incremental progress, and then get busy forcing the immediate recall and repudiation of the entire [CDC] guidelines document and all state legislation or regulation that incorporates it, we likely wont be able to avoid a rewrite effort for somekind of guideline, because doctors wont reenter pain management practice without a shield from sanctions.

3. Mauricio Santoro:

   The management of the largest Brazilian public company cannot be subjected to the short-term logic of financial speculation. from an economic perspective, the Dilma government should have been an example of what to avoid, but it is very impressive that Bolsonaro hasnt learned from her errors.

4. John Miller:

   Everything that this individual does, every technological piece that they add in to avoid detection, is going to leave a different kind of fingerprint ... that are going to help identify this person.

5. Kaiser Family Foundation:

   The increase in COVID-19 cases and news of the Delta variant spreading in the U.S. has made some people say they are more likely to wear a mask in public or avoid large gatherings, though this is mainly driven by vaccinated adults, seeing their friends get sick and local hospitals fill up again with COVID patients may speed them along and add to their ranks.

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