WARD OFF

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does ward off mean? 

• WARD OFF (verb)
  The verb WARD OFF has 2 senses:

1. prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening

2. avert, turn away, or repel

  Familiarity information: WARD OFF used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WARD OFF (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

avert; avoid; debar; deflect; fend off; forefend; forfend; head off; obviate; stave off; ward off

Context example:

avert a strike

Hypernyms (to "ward off" is one way to...):

forbid; foreclose; forestall; preclude; prevent (keep from happening or arising; make impossible)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Avert, turn away, or repel

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Context example:

Ward off danger

Hypernyms (to "ward off" is one way to...):

defend (be on the defensive; act against an attack)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

 Context examples 

Amy was ordered off at once, and provided with something to ward off danger, she departed in great state, with Jo and Laurie as escort.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The patterns help the butterflies ward off predators.

(Study reveals surprising amount of gene flow among butterfly species, National Science Foundation)

A unit for measurement of enzymatic activity of plasma and membrane-bound proteins that comprise a complement system and their split products in functional assays indicative of the activity of the classical and alternative pathways designed to ward off invading pathogens.

(Complement Activity Enzyme Unit, NCI Thesaurus)

According to a new study, infections can have long-lasting effects on a population of meningeal immune cells, replacing them with cells from outside the meninges that then change and become less likely to recognize and ward off future attacks.

(Meningitis changes immune cell makeup in the mouse brain lining, National Institutes of Health)

Inflammation occurs when the body’s defensive mechanism kicks in to ward off infection or disease, but this mechanism can turn against itself when triggered, for instance, by excess low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) that seep into the lining of the arteries.

(Study links psoriasis treatment and improvement in heart artery disease, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Her character will be fixed, and she will, at sixteen, be the most determined flirt that ever made herself or her family ridiculous; a flirt, too, in the worst and meanest degree of flirtation; without any attraction beyond youth and a tolerable person; and, from the ignorance and emptiness of her mind, wholly unable to ward off any portion of that universal contempt which her rage for admiration will excite.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

Inflammation occurs when the body’s defensive mechanism kicks in to ward off infection or disease, but this mechanism can turn against itself when triggered, for instance, by excess low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) that seep into the lining of the arteries.

(Psoriasis therapy linked to reduced coronary inflammation in patients with the skin condition, National Institutes of Health)