- 1
To try not to meet or communicate with (a person); to shun.transitive
- 2
To stay out of the way of (something harmful).transitive
- I avoided the slap easily.
- One town was flooded from the storm, while the other town avoided the storm.
- 3
To keep away from; to keep clear of; to stay away from.transitive
- I try to avoid the company of gamblers.
- 4
To try not to do something or to have something happen.transitive
- Then he realized, by the immobility of the other children and by the way they avoided looking at him, that it was he who was selected for punishment.
- 5
To make empty; to clear.obsoletetransitive
- If thou haue, he shal lyue with thee, and auoide thee out ; and he shal not sorewen vpon thee.
- 6
To make void, to annul; to refute (especially a contract).transitive
- But Y seie, this testament is confermed of God; the lawe that was maad after foure hundrid and thritti yeer, makith not the testament veyn to auoide awei the biheest.
- […] how can those graunts of the Kings be avoyded, without wronging of those lords, which had those lands and lordships given them?
- 7
To defeat or evade; to invalidate.transitive
- […] in an action for treſpaſſing upon land whereof the plaintiff is ſeiſed, if the defendant ſhews a title to the land by deſcent, and that therefore he had a right to enter, and gives colour to the plaintiff, the plaintiff may either trave
- 8
To emit or throw out; to void.obsoletetransitive
- […] the citie of Memi where is a great caue oꝛ denne in the which is a ſpꝛynge oꝛ fountayne that continually auoydethe a great quantitie of Bitumen […]
- […] a Toad piſſeth not, nor doe they containe thoſe urinary parts which are found in other animals, to avoid that ſerous excretion; […]
- 9
To leave, evacuate; to leave as empty, to withdraw or come away from.obsoletetransitive
- 1565, Thomas Stapleton (translator), The History of the Church of Englande. Compiled by Venerable Bede, Englishman, Antwerp, Book 5, Chapter 20, pp. 178b-179, […] the bishop commaunded al to auoide the chambre for an houre, and beganne to t
- 10
To get rid of.obsoletetransitive
- Whanne Y was a litil child, Y spak as a litil child, Y vndurstood as a litil child, Y thouyte as a litil child; but whanne Y was maad a man, Y auoidide tho thingis that weren of a litil child.
- […] expell out of your thoughts all douts, auoid out of your minds all feare; and like valiant champions aduance fooꝛth your ſtandards, […]
syn. abjure · avert · stave off · avoid · dodge · duck · help · elude · escape · eschew · evade · evitate
ant. come to grips with · confront · deal with · engage · get to grips with · take the bull by the horns