different between avert vs averse

English

Etymology

From Middle English averten, adverten, from Old French avertir (“turn, direct, avert; turn the attention, make aware”), from Latin ?vertere, present active infinitive of ?vert?, from ab + vert? (“to turn”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??v??t/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /??v?t/
• Rhymes: -??(?)t

Verb

avert (third-person singular simple present averts, present participle averting, simple past and past participle averted)

1. (transitive) To turn aside or away.

   To avert the eyes from an object.

2. (transitive) To ward off, or prevent, the occurrence or effects of.

   How can the danger be averted?

   • 1700, Matthew Prior, Carmen Seculare. for the Year 1700

     Till ardent prayer averts the public woe.

3. (intransitive, archaic) To turn away.

   • Cold and averting from our neighbour's good.

4. (transitive, archaic) To turn away.
   • 1625, Francis Bacon, Of Unity in Religion

     When atheists and profane persons do hear of so many discordant and contrary opinions in religion, it doth avert them from the church.

Synonyms

• (to prevent): forestall
• See also Thesaurus:hinder

Derived terms

• averter (agent noun: epicene or masculine)
• avertress (agent noun: feminine)

Translations

References

• "avert" at OneLook® Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• Trave, tarve, trave

Romansch

Alternative forms

• aviert (Sursilvan, Sutsilvan, Puter)

Etymology

From Latin apertus.

Adjective

avert m (feminine singular averta, masculine plural averts, feminine plural avertas)

1. (Rumantsch Grischun, Surmiran, Vallader) open

Related terms

• avrir

English

Etymology

From Latin aversus, past participle of avertere (“to avert”)

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??v??(?)s/

Adjective

averse (comparative more averse, superlative most averse)

1. Having a repugnance or opposition of mind.

   Synonyms: disliking, disinclined, fromward, unwilling, reluctant, loath

2. Turned away or backward.

   • The tracks averse a lying notice gave, / And led the searcher backward from the cave.

3. (obsolete) Lying on the opposite side (to or from).
4. (heraldry) Turned so as to show the back, as of a right hand.

Usage notes

• The terms adverse and averse are sometimes confused, though their meanings are somewhat different. Adverse most often refers to things, denoting something that is in opposition to someone's interests — something one might refer to as an adversity or adversary — (adverse winds; an attitude adverse to our ideals). Averse usually refers to people, and implies one has a distaste, disinclination, or aversion toward something (a leader averse to war; an investor averse to risk taking). Averse is most often used with "to" in a construction like "I am averse to…". Adverse shows up less often in this type of construction, describing a person instead of a thing, and should carry a meaning of "actively opposed to" rather than "has an aversion to".
• Averse from is an older form, corresponding to the modern averse to.

Derived terms

Related terms

• avert
• aversion

Translations

Verb

averse (third-person singular simple present averses, present participle aversing, simple past and past participle aversed)

1. (transitive, obsolete, rare) To turn away.

See also

• adverse

Anagrams

• Reaves, Seaver, Varese, as ever, re-save, reaves, resave

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.v??s/

Noun

averse f (plural averses)

1. (of rain) shower, rainshower

Further reading

• “averse” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• avères, avérés

Latin

Adjective

?verse

1. vocative masculine singular of ?versus