avoidance
Keeping one's distance
Avoidance is the act of staying away from something or preventing it from happening.
You might practice avoidance of conflict or tax avoidance—legal strategies to minimize what you owe.
The word often carries a slight judgment: His avoidance of the topic was obvious.
In psychology, avoidance behavior means steering clear of situations that trigger anxiety.
Avoid by quick movement
- eludeSkillfully avoid capture
- evadeEscape by cunning
- sidestepEvade by moving aside
- escapeFlight from captivity
circumvent · skirt · bypass · duck · deflect · swerve · parry · slip
Emotional response to threat
- phobiaPersistent irrational dread
- dreadIntense anticipatory fear
- apprehensionNervous anticipation of trouble
- aversionIntense dislike or repugnance
worry · unease · nervousness · hypervigilance · trigger · flight response · panic · squeamishness
Redirection of attention
- distractionThing diverting one's attention
- misdirectionIntentional focus manipulation
- decoyFalse target for misdirection
- feintDeceptive mock attack
ploy · subterfuge · red herring · smokescreen · stratagem · ruse · disengagement · retreat
Refusal to accept reality
- repressionUnconscious blocking of thoughts
- suppressionForcible prevention or concealment
- dissociationMental separation from surroundings
- numbingCausing loss of sensation
compartmentalization · rationalization · deflection · escapism · withdrawal · detachment · disavowal · blocking
Deliberately keep away
- ostracizeExclude from a group
- snubDeliberate dismissive rejection
- ignoreRefuse to notice
- excludeBar from participation
cold-shoulder · reject · alienate · boycott · spurn · rebuff · blacklist · banish
Enforced waiting period
- postponementDelaying to later
- deferralAct of delaying action
- procrastinationHabitual task avoidance
- hesitanceUncertainty before acting
stalling · dawdling · foot-dragging · inaction · putting off · passivity · indecision · temporizing
Prevention via threatened consequences
- prophylaxisPreventive medical treatment
- preventionStopping something before occurring
- precautionPreventive safety measure
- forestallingPreventing by prior action
preclusion · safeguard · preemption · mitigation · risk management · abstinence · abstention
dodge
Avoid by quick movement
escape · circumvent · skirt · bypass · duck · deflect · swerve · parry · slip · divert
fear
Emotional response to threat
- phobiaPersistent irrational dread
- dreadIntense anticipatory fear
- apprehensionNervous anticipation of trouble
aversion · worry · unease · nervousness · hypervigilance · trigger · flight response · panic · squeamishness · wariness
diversion
Redirection of attention
- distractionThing diverting one's attention
- misdirectionIntentional focus manipulation
- decoyFalse target for misdirection
feint · ploy · subterfuge · red herring · smokescreen · stratagem · ruse · disengagement · retreat · withdrawal
denial
Refusal to accept reality
- repressionUnconscious blocking of thoughts
- suppressionForcible prevention or concealment
- dissociationMental separation from surroundings
numbing · compartmentalization · rationalization · deflection · escapism · withdrawal · detachment · disavowal · blocking · minimization
shun
Deliberately keep away
exclude · cold-shoulder · reject · alienate · boycott · spurn · rebuff · blacklist · banish · exile
delay
Enforced waiting period
- postponementDelaying to later
- deferralAct of delaying action
- procrastinationHabitual task avoidance
hesitance · stalling · dawdling · foot-dragging · inaction · putting off · passivity · indecision · temporizing · shelving
deterrence
Prevention via threatened consequences
- prophylaxisPreventive medical treatment
- preventionStopping something before occurring
- precautionPreventive safety measure
forestalling · preclusion · safeguard · preemption · mitigation · risk management · abstinence · abstention
- social interactiongreeting, hello, goodbye, hi, bye
- aversionsaversion, dislike, distaste, hatred, loathing
- avoidancedistancing, evasion, dodging, pulling away, withdrawal
- conflict responsesconfrontation, compromise, accommodation, aggression, withdrawal
- evasion tacticsevasion, dodging, deflecting, sidestepping, misdirection
- ineffective responsesexcuses, deflection, denial, stonewalling, dismissal
avoidanceapproach
Way of handling something
pursuit · seeking · engagement · encounter · meeting
avoidanceconfrontation
Direct hostile encounter
facing · tackling · engagement · encounter · meeting
avoidanceacceptance
Consent to receive
toleration · tolerance · endurance · embrace · submission
- collision avoidancePreventing objects from hitting
- tax avoidanceLegal payment minimization
- conflict avoidanceShunning direct disagreement
- homework avoidanceShirking assigned schoolwork
- crash avoidanceTechnology preventing vehicle accidents
- debt avoidanceSteering clear of borrowing