How to Use avert in a Sentence

avert

verb
  • He sped up and averted an accident.
  • The diplomatic talks narrowly averted a war.
  • Many Israelis have preferred to avert their gaze from the rage at their doorstep.
    Roger Cohen, New York Times, 20 Nov. 2023
  • To avert a default, the House and the Senate must pass the deal and send it to Biden for his signature.
    Jim Tankersley, BostonGlobe.com, 28 May 2023
  • The bill that could avert a government shutdown heads to the Senate.
    Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 15 Nov. 2023
  • The union hopes to reach a contract and avert a potential strike before Aug. 1.
    Shera Avi-Yonah, Washington Post, 8 June 2023
  • Publicly, Biden aides have said the only way to avert a crisis is for Congress to act.
    Jim Tankersley, New York Times, 2 May 2023
  • Yet while the floods may have triggered an increase in the odor complaints, the reservoir’s presence could have helped to avert heavy damage in the area.
    Hank Sanders, Chicago Tribune, 8 Aug. 2023
  • That certainly would be an important big step to try to avert this.
    Nbc Universal, NBC News, 18 Feb. 2024
  • Passage of the bill, just hours ahead of Saturday’s 12:01 a.m. shutdown deadline, set off a sprint in the Senate to avert a lapse in funding.
    Catie Edmondson, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024
  • But the union agreed Friday to allow more time to negotiate, averting a strike for now.
    Suhauna Hussain, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2023
  • In the interim, staff members from both sides are continuing to try to reach some type of deal to avert a default.
    Compiled By Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 13 May 2023
  • Season One was all about averting Armageddon, dangerous prophecies, and the End of the World.
    Jennifer Maas, Variety, 14 Dec. 2023
  • House Republicans, with late help from Democrats, pushed through a short-term bill to fund the government through Nov. 17 and avert a shutdown.
    Nick Parker, Washington Post, 1 Oct. 2023
  • Already, some conservatives in the House are balking about the length of a short-term budget fix designed to buy time to avert a shutdown.
    Matt Egan, CNN, 21 Aug. 2023
  • Yet to avert a default, the deal still needs approval in Congress, which is not guaranteed to pass a bill to raise the debt ceiling even with the backing of Biden and McCarthy.
    Joey Garrison, USA TODAY, 28 May 2023
  • That created some optimism on the studio side that a strike could be averted.
    Gene Maddaus, Variety, 3 May 2023
  • Maritime experts said there was most likely little the crew could have done to avert catastrophe.
    Rich Schapiro, NBC News, 27 Mar. 2024
  • The inquiry comes at a crucial time for the House, which has not been able to reach a consensus on averting a government shutdown.
    Virginia Chamlee, Peoplemag, 21 Dec. 2023
  • The deal also likely averts a strike that threatened to snarl deliveries across the country.
    Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 26 July 2023
  • But a downgrade can be averted, Fitch said in its statement, if there is a resolution.
    Anna Bahney, CNN, 26 May 2023
  • Ninety-five games that – if the last few weeks is any indication – might be impossible to avert your eyes from.
    Gordon Wittenmyer, The Enquirer, 13 June 2023
  • Meanwhile, there’s a diplomatic scramble to avert full-scale war between Israel and Lebanon.
    Louisa Loveluck, Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2024
  • The vote throws a wrench in lawmakers’ plans to get all 12 appropriations bills through Congress by the end of the month to avert a government shutdown.
    Cami Mondeaux, Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2023
  • Officials here spent weeks seeking to avert this outcome, but those efforts failed.
    Amanda Coletta, Washington Post, 19 Oct. 2023
  • During the proceedings, as the photos of the abrasions on the children’s bodies were shown on the courtroom monitor, Grossman averted her eyes from the screen.
    Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2024
  • If Congress doesn’t raise the debt ceiling by the June 1 default deadline, there are three things President Biden could use to avert disaster.
    Sam Goldfarb, WSJ, 25 May 2023
  • His handling of the shutdown threat — moving a last-minute stopgap measure to fund the government and avert a funding lapse — cost him the speaker's gavel.
    Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 22 Feb. 2024
  • The mayday call provided a few precious moments to close the bridge and likely prevented more cars from being on the span, averting the loss of many more lives.
    Ray Sanchez, CNN, 29 Mar. 2024
  • Local officials in the northeast province of Golestan pleaded on Monday for water tankers, to avert protests.
    Sanam Mahoozi, Washington Post, 18 July 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'avert.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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