Avoid
Avoid verb - To get or keep away from (as a responsibility) through cleverness or trickery.
Usage example: trying to avoid writing thank-you notes for the gifts he didn't like
Incur
Incur verb - Make oneself subject to; bring upon oneself; become liable to.
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Synonyms for Incur
Common collocations
| wrath | avoid wrath | incur wrath |
| kind | avoid kind | incur kind |
| death | avoid death | incur death |
| damage | avoid damage | incur damage |
| Other words: punishment, backlash, casualties, attacks. | ||
Both words in one sentence
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They most likely did this to avoid offending Vodou practitioners, but it's more fun to think that they didn't want to incur any bad juju.
Source: The Scottish Trope - The only reason the main character opposes Chao Lingshen in the end is, basically, to avoid the Cool and Unusual Punishment he would incur from the authorities if he didn't.
Source: Hero Antagonist
Cite this Source
Incur and Avoid. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/avoid/incur
Avoid & Incur. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/avoid/incur>.
Incur or Avoid. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/avoid/incur.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "avoid" and "incur" have occurred on timeline