INDEX:
1. to avoid something bad that could happen to you
2. to avoid doing something that you should do
3. to keep away from a person or place
4. to avoid a difficult question or subject
5. to avoid being hit or seen
RELATED WORDS
to prevent something from happening : ↑ STOP (24)
when something bad almost happens to you : ↑ ALMOST (5)
see also
↑ HIDE
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1. to avoid something bad that could happen to you
▷ avoid /əˈvɔɪd/ [transitive verb]
to make sure that something bad does not happen to you, either by doing something or by deliberately not doing something :
▪ You can avoid a lot of problems if you use travellers’ cheques.
▪ The book is intended to help students avoid common errors.
▪ The driver of the car said he tried to brake to avoid the accident, but it was already too late.
▪ Police were anxious to avoid any ugly scenes when the two boys made their first appearance in court nine days ago.
▷ get around something also get round something British /ˌget əˈraʊnd something, ˌget ˈraʊnd something/ [transitive phrasal verb] informal
to find a way of avoiding a difficult or unpleasant situation, so that you do not have to deal with it :
▪ There’s no way of getting around it - you’re going to have to tell her the truth.
▪ If we can get round these difficulties, we’ll be able to discuss the really important points.
▷ escape /ɪˈskeɪp/ [transitive verb]
escape death/injury/punishment
to avoid being killed, hurt, or punished :
▪ Somehow he managed to escape serious injury.
▪ Many young offenders escape punishment completely.
narrowly escape something
almost not escape
▪ The train ran out of control, and the passengers narrowly escaped death.
2. to avoid doing something that you should do
▷ avoid /əˈvɔɪd/ [transitive verb]
▪ You can’t go on avoiding your responsibilities forever.
▪ Import duties on some goods can be avoided if you know how.
avoid doing something
▪ Do you think he’s gone away to avoid talking to the police?
▪ She’s a good manager, because she never avoids dealing with the problems of her staff.
▪ You may be able to avoid paying income tax on the money that you save.
avoidance [uncountable noun]
▪ Your avoidance of the issue is probably not helping the relationship much.
▷ get out of something /ˌget ˈaʊt əv something/ [transitive phrasal verb] informal
to avoid doing something that you should do or that you have promised to do :
▪ I was supposed to stay at home with my baby sister today, but I’ll try to get out of it.
get out of doing something
▪ He always manages to get out of paying for the drinks.
▷ duck out of /ˌdʌk ˈaʊt ɒv/ [transitive phrasal verb] informal
to avoid doing something that you have to do or have promised to do especially in a way that makes people not like or respect you :
▪ It’s illegal for these companies to duck out of their responsibilities by changing their names.
duck out of doing something
▪ Miller has been widely criticized for trying to duck out on paying back the loans.
▷ wriggle out of/worm (your way) out of also weasel (your way) out of American /ˌrɪg ə l ˈaʊt ɒv , ˌwɜːʳm (jɔːʳ weɪ) ˈaʊt ɒv , ˌwiːz ə l (jɔːʳ weɪ) ˈaʊt ɒv/ [transitive verb]
to avoid doing something you should do by making up excuses :
▪ He’s somehow managed to wriggle out of watching the kids again.
▪ Beth’s trying to worm her way out of helping with the party.
▪ You promised you’d take me, so don’t try to weasel out of it.
▷ get around also get round British /get əˈraʊnd , get ˈraʊnd/ [transitive phrasal verb]
get around a law/rule/regulation etc
to find a legal way of not obeying a law or rule that prevents you from doing what you want to do :
▪ Isn’t there any way of getting round these regulations?
▪ He gets around the fire codes by claiming the building is a private club and not a business.
▷ evade /ɪˈveɪd/ [transitive verb] informal
to avoid paying tax or obeying a law, in a way that is illegal or dishonest, or to avoid doing something that it is your duty to do :
▪ Clever businessmen often manage to evade taxes.
▪ Politicians have come up with many tricks to evade campaign spending limits.
evasion /ɪˈveɪʒ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
▪ The authorities are becoming stricter about tax evasion.
▷ dodge /dɒdʒǁdɑːdʒ/ [transitive verb] informal
to avoid paying something or doing something, especially in a dishonest way :
▪ Through the help of powerful Senators, the firm has successfully dodged most federal environmental regulations.
▪ During the Vietnam war, he moved to Canada to dodge the draft.
dodge [countable noun]
▪ He always knew about the latest tax dodge the latest way to avoid paying taxes .
3. to keep away from a person or place
▷ avoid /əˈvɔɪd/ [transitive verb]
to keep away from a person, because you do not want to talk to them, or keep away from a place, because there are problems there :
▪ I’m sure Sarah’s been avoiding me recently.
▪ Drivers are advised to avoid Elm Street today due to heavy traffic and long delays.
avoid somebody/something like the plague
informal try very hard to avoid them
▪ Except when they were filming, the two actors avoided each other like the plague.
▷ stay away/keep away /ˌsteɪ əˈweɪ, ˌkiːp əˈweɪ/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to not go near a person or place, because they may be dangerous or may cause problems :
stay away/keep away from
▪ That evening he received a note warning him to stay away from the camp.
▪ Keep away from my children, or I’ll call the police.
stay/keep well away
completely avoid
▪ She walked along the path, keeping well away from the edge of the cliff.
▷ steer clear of /ˌstɪəʳ ˈklɪər ɒv/ also give somebody/something a wide berth /ˌgɪv (somebody/something) ə ˌwaɪd ˈbɜːʳθ/ [verb phrase] informal
to make an effort to avoid a person or place, because there could be serious problems if you do not :
▪ We were told to steer clear of the main roads where we might be recognized.
▪ She advised me to steer clear of Matthew - she said he couldn’t be trusted.
▪ Passersby gave the old man on the sidewalk a fairly wide berth.
▷ make a detour /ˌmeɪk ə ˈdiːtʊəʳ/ [verb phrase]
to travel around a place instead of through the centre of it, especially to avoid a traffic problem :
▪ We had to make a long detour because of the floods.
4. to avoid a difficult question or subject
▷ avoid /əˈvɔɪd/ [transitive verb]
to not talk about a subject or not answer a question, because you do not want to cause embarrassment or problems for yourself :
▪ Try to avoid subjects like sex or religion that might offend people.
▪ Typical politician! He just kept avoiding the question.
▷ evade /ɪˈveɪd/ [transitive verb]
to avoid a particular subject or a question because you are trying to hide something :
▪ Steve evaded the question when I asked him why he had left work so early.
▪ The best interviewers make it impossible for politicians to evade the questions.
▷ evasive /ɪˈveɪsɪv/ [adjective]
someone who is evasive tries to avoid answering questions or explaining their plans, because they want to hide something :
▪ When we asked him where his wife was, O'Hare suddenly became evasive.
▪ All their questions were met with vague, evasive answers.
▷ dodge/duck/sidestep /dɒdʒǁdɑːdʒ, dʌk, ˈsaɪdstep/ [transitive verb] informal
to avoid answering a question or talking about a subject, especially by talking about something else instead :
▪ Once again the management dodged the issue of salary increases.
▪ Even if you don’t agree with him, you have to admit Senator Connors never ducks a question.
▪ He sidestepped the question, and talked instead about plans for the future.
▷ beat about the bush British /beat around the bush American /ˌbiːt əbaʊt ðə ˈbʊʃ, ˌbiːt əraʊnd ðə ˈbʊʃ/ [verb phrase]
to avoid talking about the most important detail of something and talk about other details instead, because you are embarrassed, not confident etc :
▪ Don’t beat about the bush - get to the point.
▪ If you want to leave, just say so instead of beating around the bush.
▷ shy away from /ˌʃaɪ əˈweɪ frəɒm/ [verb phrase]
to avoid a subject or problem, especially because you are afraid, embarrassed, or do not want to offend other people :
▪ Parents often shy away from discussing sex with their children.
5. to avoid being hit or seen
▷ avoid /əˈvɔɪd/ [transitive verb]
to move so that you do not hit something or get hit by it :
▪ I had to swerve to avoid the truck.
avoid doing something
▪ Penny jumped out of the way to avoid being hit by the falling branch.
▷ get out of the way /get ˌaʊt əv ðə ˈweɪ/ [verb phrase]
to move quickly in order to avoid something dangerous that is moving towards you :
▪ ‘Get out of the way!’ he yelled, as the truck rolled down the hill.
get out of the way of
▪ She had to run to the sidewalk to get out of the way of the car.
▷ duck /dʌk/ [intransitive verb]
to move your head and the top part of your body down in order to avoid something :
▪ I forgot to duck and hit my head on the branch.
▪ Josie ducked and the vase smashed against the wall.
▷ dodge /dɒdʒǁdɑːdʒ/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to avoid something or someone by moving sideways :
▪ We had to run across some open ground, dodging the bullets.
▪ He almost caught me, but I dodged and ran across the road.
dodge behind/into/through
▪ When Kevin saw the soldiers, he dodged into an alley.