The English verb avert is a powerful and expressive word that can be used in various contexts, often to imply the act of preventing something bad from happening or turning away from something unpleasant. While not used in everyday conversation as frequently as simpler verbs, it carries a formal and sometimes urgent tone that makes it perfect for both spoken and written English. Understanding how to make a sentence with avert will improve your vocabulary and ability to express complex ideas. This topic explores the full meaning of the word, its uses in different contexts, and examples that demonstrate its versatility.
Definition and Origin of Avert
The word avert is derived from the Latin wordavertere, which means to turn away. Over time, it entered English and retained a similar meaning: to prevent or to turn away. In modern English, it has two primary uses:
- To prevent something undesirable from happening e.g., ‘The firefighters managed to avert a disaster.’
- To turn away one’s eyes or gaze e.g., ‘He averted his eyes from the gruesome scene.’
This dual nature makes avert suitable for both physical actions and abstract concepts. Because it’s often used in more formal settings, learning how to make a sentence with avert is useful for academic writing, professional communication, and storytelling.
How to Use Avert in a Sentence
Grammatical Structure
Avert is a transitive verb, meaning it always takes a direct object. This means you need to specify what is being averted. For example:
- Correct: ‘She tried to avert a crisis.’
- Incorrect: ‘She tried to avert.’
The verb is usually followed by a noun that represents a negative event, threat, or harmful condition. Additionally, it can be used with reflexive pronouns (e.g., himself) when referring to physical movement like averting one’s gaze.
Examples of Sentences with Avert
Here are several ways to make a sentence with avert, using different contexts:
- ‘The government took quick action to avert an economic collapse.’
- ‘She averted her eyes when the movie scene became too violent.’
- ‘Vaccinations can help avert the spread of infectious diseases.’
- ‘He managed to avert suspicion by staying calm and cooperative.’
- ‘The pilot made a sharp turn to avert a mid-air collision.’
These examples show how versatile the word can be, working equally well in emotional, physical, and abstract situations.
Common Collocations with Avert
When trying to make a sentence with avert, certain nouns commonly follow the verb. Understanding these collocations helps you sound more natural and fluent.
Frequent Pairings
- Avert a disaster
- Avert a crisis
- Avert danger
- Avert one’s eyes/gaze
- Avert war
- Avert a threat
Using these pairings makes your sentences more idiomatic and helps you write more convincingly in academic and formal contexts.
Making Sentences in Different Tenses
Present Tense
‘They avert risks by using updated safety protocols.’
Past Tense
‘The negotiator averted a potentially violent conflict.’
Future Tense
‘If we act now, we can avert long-term damage to the environment.’
Present Perfect
‘We have averted many potential problems by being prepared.’
By using avert across different tenses, you gain more flexibility in how you construct your sentences and express timing.
Using Avert in Formal and Informal Contexts
While avert is more commonly used in formal writing or speech, it’s possible to incorporate it into everyday communication when appropriate.
Formal Contexts
- ‘The administration implemented new policies to avert political unrest.’
- ‘Their immediate response helped avert a humanitarian crisis.’
Informal Contexts
- ‘He quickly averted his eyes when he saw something awkward.’
- ‘She told a joke to avert the tension in the room.’
While in informal conversation, synonyms like prevent or avoid might be more common, using avert occasionally adds variety and richness to your language.
Synonyms and Subtle Differences
When trying to make a sentence with avert, it helps to understand how it compares to similar verbs:
- Prevent Generally broader, often interchangeable with avert but more common in everyday speech.
- Avoid Focuses on steering clear of something, rather than actively stopping it.
- Ward off Slightly more archaic, but similar in meaning, often used with illnesses or danger.
Using avert instead of more casual synonyms can elevate your writing and make it more precise.
Helpful Tips for Learning to Use Avert
- Read topics or books that use formal language to see avert in context.
- Practice writing your own sentences using avert with different nouns.
- Try replacing prevent in your writing with avert where appropriate to see the stylistic difference.
- Pay attention to subject-verb-object structure to ensure grammatical correctness.
Practice Activity
Here’s a quick exercise to help reinforce your understanding of how to make a sentence with avert. Choose the correct version of each sentence:
- Which sentence is correct?
a) ‘They tried to avert.’
b) ‘They tried to avert the catastrophe.’ - Choose the better sentence:
a) ‘He avert his eyes from the screen.’
b) ‘He averted his eyes from the screen.’
Correct answers: 1-b, 2-b.
Learning how to make a sentence with avert is a valuable addition to your English vocabulary. Its precise meaning and formal tone make it useful for describing actions taken to prevent harm, avoid danger, or turn away from something unpleasant. Whether you’re writing an academic essay, a news topic, or just trying to sound more articulate in everyday conversation, knowing how to properly use avert will elevate your language and make your communication more impactful.