Avoid

• POS: Verb (transitive)
• HYPHEN: a=void

CIDE DICTIONARY

Avoid, v. t. [OF. esvuidier, es (L. ex) + vuidier, voidier, to empty. See Void, a.].

•  To empty.  Wyclif.  [1913 Webster]
•  To emit or throw out; to void; as, to avoid excretions.  Sir T. Browne.  [1913 Webster]
•  To quit or evacuate; to withdraw from.  [1913 Webster]

  "Six of us only stayed, and the rest avoided
  the room."  [1913 Webster]
•  To make void; to annul or vacate; to refute.  [1913 Webster]

  "How can these grants of the king's be avoided?"  [1913 Webster]
•  To keep away from; to keep clear of; to endeavor no to meet; to shun; to abstain from; as, to avoid the company of gamesters.  [1913 Webster]

  "What need a man forestall his date of grief.
  And run to meet what he would most avoid ?"  [1913 Webster]

  "He carefully avoided every act which could goad them into open hostility."  [1913 Webster]
•  To get rid of.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]
•  To defeat or evade; to invalidate. Thus, in a replication, the plaintiff may deny the defendant's plea, or confess it, and avoid it by stating new matter.  Blackstone.  [1913 Webster]

  "No man can pray from his heart to be kept from temptation, if the take no care of himself to avoid it."  [1913 Webster]

  "So Chanticleer, who never saw a fox,
  Yet shunned him as a sailor shuns the rocks."  [1913 Webster]

Syn. -- To escape; elude; evade; eschew.

Avoid, v. i. 

•  To retire; to withdraw.  [1913 Webster]

  "David avoided out of his presence."  [1913 Webster]
•  To become void or vacant.  Ayliffe.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Avoid, v.tr.
1 keep away or refrain from (a thing, person, or action).
2 escape; evade.
3 Law a nullify (a decree or contract). b quash (a sentence).

Derivative

avoidable adj. avoidably adv. avoidance n. avoider n.

Etymology

AF avoider, OF evuider clear out, get quit of, f. vuide empty, VOID

THESAURUS

Avoid

abstain, abstain from, avert, be stuck-up, bilk, blench, blink, circumvent, cringe, debar, deflect, divert, do without, dodge, double, draw back, duck, elude, escape, eschew, evade, exclude, fade, fall back, fight shy of, flinch, forbear, forbid, forgo, give place to, hang back, hold aloof, hold aloof from, hold back, jib, keep aloof, keep away from, keep clear of, keep from, keep hands off, keep off, keep remote from, leave alone, let alone, let go by, make way for, never touch, not meddle with, not touch, obviate, pass up, preclude, prevent, prohibit, pull back, quail, recoil, reel back, refrain, refrain from, retreat, sheer off, shrink, shrink back, shun, shy, sidestep, spare, stand aloof, stand aloof from, start aside, start back, stay detached from, steer clear of, swerve, turn aside, turn away from, ward off, weasel, weasel out, wince, withhold

ROGET THESAURUS

Avoid

Unwillingness

VB be unwilling, nill, dislike, grudge, begrudge, not be able to find it in one's heart to, not have the stomach to, demur, stick at, scruple, stickle, hang fire, run rusty, recoil, shrink, swerve, hesitate, avoid, oppose, dissent, refuse.

Avoidance

VB abstain, refrain, spare, not attempt, not do, maintain the even tenor of one's way, eschew, keep from, let alone, have nothing to do with, keep aloof keep off, stand aloof, stand off, hold aloof, hold off, take no part in, have no hand in, avoid, shun, steer clear of, keep clear of, fight shy of, keep one's distance, keep at a respectful distance, keep out of the way, get out of the way, evade, elude, turn away from, set one's face against, deny oneself, shrink back, hang back, hold back, draw back, recoil, retire, flinch, blink, blench, shy, shirk, dodge, parry, make way for, give place to, beat a retreat, turn tail, turn one's back, take to one's heels, runaway, run for one's life, cut and run, be off like a shot, fly, flee, fly away, flee away, run away from, take flight, take to flight, desert, elope, make off, scamper off, sneak off, shuffle off, sheer off, break away, tear oneself away, slip away, slink away, steel away, make away from, scamper away from, sneak away from, shuffle away from, sheer away from, slip cable, part company, turn one's heel, sneak out of, play truant, give one the go by, give leg bail, take French leave, slope, decamp, flit, bolt, abscond, levant, skedaddle, absquatulat, cut one's stick, walk one's chalks, show a light pair of heels, make oneself scarce, escape, go away, abandon, reject, lead one a dance, lead one a pretty dance, throw off the scent, play at hide and seek, Adj, unsought, unattempted, avoiding, neutral, shy of, elusive, evasive, fugitive, runaway, shy, wild.

Dislike

VB mislike misrelish, dislike, disrelish, mind, object to, have rather not, would rather not, prefer not to, not care for, have a dislike for, conceive a dislike to, entertain a dislike for, take a dislike to, have an aversion to, have an aversion for, have no taste for, have no stomach for, shun, avoid, eschew, withdraw from, shrink from, recoil from, not be able to bear, not be able to abide, not be able to endure, shrug the shoulders at, shudder at, turn up the nose at, look askance at, make a mouth, make a wry face, make a grimace, make faces, loathe, nauseate, abominate, detest, abhor, hate, take amiss, have enough of, wish away, unwish cause dislike, excite dislike, disincline, repel, sicken, make sick, render sick, turn one's stomach, nauseate, wamble, disgust, shock, stink in the nostrils, go against the grain, go against the stomach, stick in the throat, make one's blood run cold, pall.