Avoid
Refrain
Refrain verb - Resist doing something.
Avoid is a synonym for refrain in action topic. You can use "Avoid" instead a verb "Refrain", if it concerns topics such as stop, forbear, skip, do without.
Nearby Words: refrained, refraining
Mutual synonyms
Both words in one sentence
- By the same token, the villains refrain from targeting civilian identities and try to avoid killing superheroes.
Source: Enforced Cold War -
Movies can avoid this easily; they may just refrain filming a timestopped sequence without these visual aids, or perhaps zoom the camera in a bug that froze above the hero's head.
Source: Colour Coded Timestop - A word in Greek or Latin that means "avoid" or "refrain from" can sometimes be translated into English, albeit loosely, as "hate".
Cite this Source
Refrain and Avoid. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/avoid/refrain
Avoid & Refrain. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/avoid/refrain>.
Refrain or Avoid. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/avoid/refrain.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "avoid" and "refrain" have occurred on timeline