avoidance
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
the act of staying away from a person, place, or situation.
the act of shunning or keeping clear of something unpleasant or harmful.
Simple“His avoidance of the subject made it clear he didn't want to talk about the accident.”
In context“The patient's persistent avoidance of social situations was identified by the therapist as a primary symptom of his underlying anxiety disorder.”
Antonyms - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
the act of making sure something bad does not happen.
the prevention of an anticipated or likely event through deliberate action.
Simple“The pilot took quick action for the avoidance of a collision.”
In context“Strict safety protocols are essential for the avoidance of industrial accidents in high-risk manufacturing environments.”
SynonymsAntonyms - 03 C1 Advanced
the legal way of reducing the amount of tax you have to pay.
the legal exploitation of the tax regime to one's own advantage, to reduce the amount of tax that is payable by means that are within the law.
Simple“The company used clever tax avoidance schemes to keep more of its profits.”
In context“The government introduced new legislation to close loopholes that allowed aggressive tax avoidance by multinational corporations.”
UsageOften appears in the phrase 'tax avoidance' to distinguish it from illegal 'tax evasion'.
Teacher's tipExplain to students that 'avoidance' is the legal strategy, while 'evasion' is the criminal act.
PitfallHe was arrested for tax avoidance. He was arrested for tax evasion.Avoidance is legal; evasion is illegal. You are not usually arrested for avoidance.
SynonymsAntonyms - 04 C2 Proficiency
the act of making a legal agreement or contract no longer valid.
the act of annulling or making void; the invalidation of a legal instrument or a plea.
Simple“The lawyer argued for the avoidance of the contract based on a technical error.”
In context“The court ruled that the misrepresentation of facts justified the avoidance of the insurance policy from its inception.”
SynonymsAntonyms
“By contrast, being confident that the other person's belief was simply different—not wrong—did not predict avoidance.”
From Middle English avoidaunce, from avoid + -ance.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.