Search blog

What is Avoid? Mastering the usage of Avoid in English!

Avoid is a widely used and popular word in English tests. However, not everyone is clear about its definition and usage. To help readers better understand the usage of Avoid in English and related information, let's refer to this article with PREP!

I. What is Avoid in English?
II. Structure with Avoid in English
III. How to use Avoid in English
IV. Distinguishing Avoid and Prevent
V. Exercises using Avoid in English
1. 1. Exercise
2. 2. Answer

I. What is Avoid in English?

Avoid is pronounced /əˈvɔɪd/ and serves as a verb. The Avoid meaning in English is: to stay away from someone or something; to prevent something from happening, or to not allow yourself to do something. Example:

Jill is avoiding me.
He avoids drinking as much alcohol as he can.
They broke up a week ago, so now she always avoids him.

Common phrasal verbs and idioms with Avoid in English:

Common phrasal verbs and idioms with Avoid in English	Meaning	Example
Avoid doing	to prevent something from happening, or to not allow yourself to do something	She tried to avoid making any mistakes in her report.
Avoid someone/something	to stay away from someone or something	He avoids his father at family gatherings.
Avoid the issue	If you avoid something unpleasant that might happen, you take action in order to prevent it from happening	Politicians often avoid the issue of climate change in their speeches.
Avoid something like the plague	to be determined to avoid something completely	She avoids talking to her ex-husband like the plague.
A danger foreseen is half-avoided	Being aware of a danger helps you to prepare and avoid the full brunt of it	In the winter, Lara always listens to the weather forecast so that she’s never caught by surprise by a snowstorm. A danger foreseen is half avoided, after all.
Avoid evil and it will avoid thee (proverb)	If you don't engage with bad or malevolent people, things, or situations, then you won't fall victim to them.	I can't believe she's hanging out with those ne'er-do-wells. I always advised her, "Avoid evil and it will avoid thee."
To fall into/avoid the trap of doing something (idiom)	to do something that seems good at the time but is not sensible or wise, or to avoid doing this	Parents often fall into the trap of trying to do everything for their children.

Avoid synonyms in English:

Avoid synonyms in English	Example
Evade /ɪˈveɪd/	Peter tried to evade the question by changing the subject.
Elude /ɪˈluːd/	The suspect managed to elude the police for several weeks.
Sidestep /ˈsaɪd.stɛp/	Anna sidestepped the issue during the meeting.
Bypass /ˈbaɪ.pɑːs/	They decided to bypass the main road due to heavy traffic.
Shun /ʃʌn/	John was shunned by his colleagues after the scandal.

II. Structure with Avoid in English

Overall, Avoid in English is used to express the act of steering clear of something. The formula for this structure is as follows:

Avoid + Noun/pronoun/V-ing

Example:

I don’t know why, but Jimmy is trying to avoid everyone in the department.
Tina is losing weight, so she avoids fast food and fried food.
Quinn seems to avoid visiting her parents.

III. How to use Avoid in English

Avoid in English grammar includes two common usages, both applying the formula mentioned above. However, these two cases have certain differences in meaning.

1. To stay away from someone or something, to prevent something from happening or to not allow yourself to do something

For example:

Chris doesn’t like kids, he always avoids going to the entertainment park.
Do you think Sarah is avoiding me?
Because her teeth are hurting, she avoids eating ice cream.

2. To prevent something from a bad event or occurrence.

For example:

Understanding different viewpoints is a good start toward avoiding conflict.
I told Nick to leave the bar early to avoid fighting with some guys.
To avoid car accidents, we should not drive too fast.

3. Some notes on using Avoid in a sentence

In English grammar, the verb Avoid in English is conjugated according to the subject and tense of the sentence. For example:

Quagmire always avoids his ex-girlfriends.
She's been avoiding me like the plague since the party last Saturday.

Additionally, Avoid in English is always accompanied by nouns, pronouns, or verbs with the -ing ending (V-ing) and never with a base verb that includes "to" (to V). Example:

Peter took the other way to avoid seeing Mary. → Correct
Peter took the other way to avoid to see Mary. → Incorrect.

IV. Distinguishing Avoid and Prevent

The structures Avoid and Prevent are two grammatical points in English that many learners often confuse. Let’s distinguish between Avoid and Prevent below!

Criteria	Avoid	Prevent
Structure	Avoid + Noun/ Pronoun/ V-ing	Prevent + someone + FROM something/V-ing (must include the preposition FROM) or Prevent something
Meaning	To stay away from someone or something, to prevent something from happening or to not allow yourself to do something	To stop something from happening or someone from doing something, often through preventive measures.
Usage	To prevent an event that has already happened or is happening (referring to the past and present).	To stop an event that has not yet occurred (predicting the future).
Example	She avoids eating junk food to maintain her health.	The security system is designed to prevent unauthorized access to the building.

V. Exercises using Avoid in English

To better understand how to use Avoid in English, let’s complete the exercises below with PREP!

1. Exercise

Exercise 1: Rewrite the sentences using Avoid

Fishermen should not go to the sea today because of the coming storm.
Study harder if you don’t want to get a low score.
I chose another road to go because there was a traffic jam.
Why don’t you talk to your brother at school?
We need these rules or there will be conflict between employees.

Exercise 2: Choose between Avoid or Prevent and fill in the blanks appropriately.

This lesson was aimed to __________ misunderstanding.
This organization is trying to ________ people from using plastic.
Jane wants to __________ me from playing extreme games.
Group members can’t __________ conflicts all the time.
________ smoking in the public, please.

2. Answer

Question	Exercise
Question	Exercise 1	Exercise 2
1	Fishermen should avoid going to the sea today because of the coming storm	avoid/ prevent
2	Study harder if you want to avoid a low score/ getting a low score.	prevent
3	To avoid the traffic jam, I chose another road.	prevent
4	Why do you avoid seeing your brother at school?	avoid
5	These rules are made to avoid conflict between employees.	avoid

PREP hope that the knowledge about Avoid in English in the article above has provided you with a clearer understanding of this English grammar point, helping you enhance your English skills! The teachers at PREP are always by your side on the journey to mastering English. Wishing you success!

Master Tu Pham

Founder/CEO at Prep

Founder of Prep Smart Test Preparation Platform. With over 10 years of experience in teaching and test preparation, Mr. Tú has helped thousands of students achieve high scores in the IELTS exam. In addition, Mr. Tú Phạm is also a consulting expert in British Council programs and a speaker at many leading educational events, programs, and conferences.