avoid
stay clear from; keep away from; keep out of the way of someone or something
How often you will meet it
Rank 1,923 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 9,337 times across 139,755 chapters — 0.004% of every word in the library.
What it means
verb
- stay clear from; keep away from; keep out of the way of someone or something Her former friends now avoid her
- prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening also: debar, forefend, forfend, obviate, deflect, avert Let's avoid a confrontationhead off a confrontation
- refrain from doing something She refrains from calling her therapist too oftenHe should avoid publishing his wife's memories
- refrain from certain foods or beverages also: keep off I keep off drugsDuring Ramadan, Muslims avoid tobacco during the day
- declare invalid also: invalidate, annul, quash, void, nullify The contract was annulledvoid a plea
avoid in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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To avoid that he hurried to the lower floor.
The Abandoned Room · Wadsworth Camp · Chapter 1
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His anxiety to avoid all questions about his lodger was sufficiently obvious.
The Shadow of a Crime: A Cumbrian Romance · Hall, Sir Caine · Chapter 1
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To avoid slipping down the incline she clung to the young man’s neck.
The Fortune of the Rougons · Émile Zola · Chapter 1
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I'm not thin-skinned; but there are some subjects that no man anxious to avoid Bedlam would willingly investigate.
Brood of the Witch-Queen · Sax Rohmer · Chapter 1
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Soon people had to hide or to fly to avoid being incorporated in the battalions of the Commune.
Other People's Money · Emile Gaboriau · Chapter 1