Avoid and Lessen

Avoid

Avoid verb - To get or keep away from (as a responsibility) through cleverness or trickery.

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Lessen and avoid are semantically related In some cases you can use "Lessen" instead a verb "Avoid".

Lessen verb - To make smaller in amount, volume, or extent.

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Avoid and lessen are semantically related in action topic. Sometimes you can use "Avoid" instead a verb "Lessen".

Nearby Words: lessening, less

problem	avoid problem	lessen problem
effect	avoid effect	lessen effect
time	avoid time	lessen time
effects	avoid effects	lessen effects
Other words: suspicion, damage, pain, risk, confusion, casualties.

This trope is also useful for killing a Sacrificial Lamb off in the beginning that the author doesn't want to appear as a main character in the rest of the work, whether to avoid Fridge Logic, or to lessen the burden of the hero on their Heroic Journey.

Source: Forgotten Fallen Friend

Cite this Source

Lessen and Avoid. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/avoid/lessen

Avoid & Lessen. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/avoid/lessen>.

Lessen or Avoid. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/avoid/lessen.

Google Ngram Viewer shows how "avoid" and "lessen" have occurred on timeline