1
general::
verb prevent sth ADV. altogether It is sometimes impossible to avoid conflict altogether. | narrowly They narrowly avoided defeat in the semi-final. | at all costs Getting involved in a court case is something to be avoided at all costs. VERB + AVOID be anxious to, want to, wish to They are anxious to avoid any further misunderstandings. | attempt to, try to | be careful to, take care to He was careful to avoid any sentimentality in his speech. | help (to) | be able to, manage to | be possible to | be difficult to, be impossible to PHRASES an attempt/effort to avoid sth He failed in his attempt to avoid having to pay. keep away from sb ADV. carefully, deliberately, studiously The two men carefully avoided one another. VERB + AVOID try to not hit sb/sth when driving ADV. narrowly He braked hard and narrowly avoided a parked van. VERB + AVOID brake to | swerve to She swerved to avoid a cyclist.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
2
general::
to avoid a person or place
avoid
to deliberately not go near a person or place:
• Why have you been avoiding me? • We avoided Park Street because of the traffic.
stay away/keep away
to avoid a person or place, especially a dangerous one:
• She walked along the path, keeping well away from the edge of the cliff. • That man is trouble – I’d stay away from him.
steer clear of somebody/something
informal to avoid a person or place, because there could be problems if you do not:
• I usually steer clear of the kitchen when Alan’s cooking. • I’d steer clear of Matthew if I were you.
make a detour
to avoid a place by travelling around it instead of through the centre:
• We had to make a long detour because of the floods.
to avoid doing something
avoid
to find a way of not doing something that you should do:
• Some people will do anything to avoid work.
get out of something
to avoid doing something you should do or something you promised to do. Get out of is more common than avoid in everyday spoken English:
• We promised we’d go – we can’t get out of it now.
wriggle out of something
( also wiggle out of something American English ) to avoid doing something you should do by making up excuses. Used to show disapproval:
• He always seems to wriggle out of helping with the kids.
evade
formal to avoid doing something that legally or morally you should do – used especially about taxes or responsibilities:
• It is an offence to evade taxes. • The US cannot evade its responsibility for the war.
Longman-Thesaurus