基本释义
[verb] turn away (one’s eyes or thoughts)
[动词] 转移（某人的目光或想法）
深入解读
Avert 是一个与小站之前推送过的 overt, covert 等结尾相同的单词，该词源自拉丁语 avertere （转过去、驱赶、避开、使疏远），15世纪中期经古法语 avertir 进入英语后也是用来表示“转移”或者说“把……转到另一边去”，主要指将目光、想法、注意力等转向别处，以从肉体上或精神上远离眼前的事物，常含有一种强烈的回避意味，甚至是反感，比如：
- 她穿衣服的时候我把目光转向一边。
I averted my gaze while she dressed. - 我们尽量不去想我们日益恶化的财政问题。
We tried to avert our thoughts from our escalating financial problems.
从这个概念出发，等到了17世纪初， avert 开始用来喻指“防止、避免、挡开”，多指采取积极的措施防止或避免危险、灾难等不希望发生的事情来临，比如：
- 有备无患。
Preparedness averts peril. - 那个调情老手娴熟老练地变换了话题从而避免了两位客人之间的冲突。
The flirt averted a confrontation between the two guests with an adroit and diplomatic change of subject.
好书例句
He looked around the hall, saw heads turn quickly, eyes politely averted. They all know.
他环顾大厅，看见一个个赶忙别开的头，一只只礼貌垂下的眼睛。他们通通都知道。
出自美国作家乔治·R·R·马丁所著的史诗奇幻小说系列《冰与火之歌》（A Song of Ice and Fire）。
外刊例句
- Last year Cape Town in South Africa averted only narrowly the unwanted prize for being the first of the world’s big cities to run out of water.
去年，南非开普敦差一点就摘得了一个它不想要的荣誉——成为世界上第一个无水可用的大城市。
——《经济学人》 - Now it is up to the president to work with Senator Reid on legislation to avert the fiscal cliff.
现在，需要总统与里德参议员在立法方面合作，以避免财政悬崖。
——《纽约时报》
详细用法
avert 是一个动词，意为避免、防止或转移（危险、灾难等）。它通常用于描述采取行动来防止某件不好或危险的事情发生。下面是关于 avert 的一些用法，附带中文解释：
- Avert a crisis: 避免危机
- Quick action was taken to avert a financial crisis.（采取了快速行动以避免金融危机。）
- The government implemented measures to avert an environmental disaster.（政府采取措施以防止环境灾难的发生。）
- Avert a collision: 避免碰撞
- The driver swerved to avert a collision with the oncoming car.（司机转向以避免与迎面而来的车辆碰撞。）
- She managed to avert an accident by slamming on the brakes.（她通过猛踩刹车成功地避免了一场事故。）
- Avert one’s gaze: 避开目光
- He averted his gaze when she caught him staring at her.（当她发现他盯着她看时，他转移了目光。）
- The suspect tried to avert his gaze during the interrogation.（嫌疑犯在审讯过程中试图避开目光。）
- Avert a disaster: 防止灾难
- The firefighters worked tirelessly to avert a major disaster.（消防员不辞辛劳地努力防止一场重大灾难。）
- The timely evacuation of the building averted a potential disaster.（及时疏散建筑物避免了一场潜在的灾难。）
- Avert one’s attention: 转移注意力
- He tried to avert her attention from his mistake by changing the subject.（他试图通过转移话题来避免她对他的错误过分关注。）
- The magician used sleight of hand to avert the audience’s attention.（魔术师使用巧妙的手法转移观众的注意力。）
以上是关于 avert 的一些常见用法，涵盖了避免危机、碰撞、灾难以及转移目光和注意力等不同方面的意义。
常见短语
常见用法：
- Avert a crisis – 避免危机
- The timely intervention helped avert a major crisis. (及时的干预帮助避免了一场重大危机。)
- Avert disaster – 避免灾难
- Quick action by the firefighters averted a potential disaster. (消防员的迅速行动避免了一场潜在的灾难。)
- Avert a collision – 避免碰撞
- The driver swerved to avert a collision with the oncoming vehicle. (司机急转方向避免与迎面而来的车辆碰撞。)
- Avert a war – 避免战争
- Diplomatic efforts were made to avert a full-scale war between the two countries. (为了避免两国之间的全面战争，进行了外交努力。)
- Avert a crisis – 防止危机
- The safety measures in place are meant to avert any potential crisis. (现有的安全措施旨在防止任何潜在的危机。)
描述预防和防止的短语：
- Avert a disaster in advance – 提前防止灾难
- The authorities took necessary precautions to avert a disaster in advance. (当局采取了必要的预防措施，提前防止灾难。)
- Avert a problem – 避免问题
- The timely action helped avert a potential problem. (及时的行动帮助避免了潜在的问题。)
- Avert a crisis situation – 避免危机局面
- The negotiations were successful in averting a crisis situation. (谈判成功地避免了一场危机局面。)
- Avert a catastrophe – 防止灾难
- Strict safety regulations are in place to avert a potential catastrophe. (制定了严格的安全规定，以防止潜在的灾难。)
- Avert potential damage – 防止潜在的损害
- The repairs were done to avert any potential damage to the building. (进行了修理工作，以防止对建筑物造成任何潜在的损害。)
描述转移注意力和避免的用法：
- Avert one’s gaze – 避免目光接触
- She averted her gaze when he walked into the room. (当他走进房间时，她避免了目光接触。)
- Avert one’s attention – 转移注意力
- The speaker used humor to avert the audience’s attention from the controversial topic. (演讲者使用幽默来转移听众对有争议
同近义词
preclude: prevent from happening; make impossible
forestall: prevent or obstruct (an anticipated event or action) by taking action ahead of time
divert: cause (someone or something) to change course or turn from one direction to another
