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avoidance

/əˈvɔɪdəns/noun

avoidance is spelled A-V-O-I-D-A-N-C-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 14,106th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, avoidance means “The act of avoiding or shunning; keeping clear of” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of avoidance is avoidances.

How many letters and syllables are in avoidance?

Letters9: A-V-O-I-D-A-N-C-E
Syllables3 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing3.5 times per million words; the 14,106th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is avoidance?

Avoidance appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 14,106th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce avoidance?

  • /əˈvɔɪdəns/

Avoidance has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-avoidance.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of avoidance

  • avoidances plural
  • avoidaunce

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does avoidance mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    The act of avoiding or shunning; keeping clear of.

  2. 2

    obsoleteThe act of annulling; annulment.

  3. 3

    obsoleteThe act of becoming vacant, or the state of being vacant, specifically used for the state of a benefice becoming void by the death, deprivation, or resignation of the incumbent.

  4. 4

    obsoleteThe act of dismissing a person.

  5. 5

    obsoleteThe act of quitting a position or benefice.

  6. 6

    obsoleteThe course by which anything (especially water) is carried off.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Avoidance in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchévitement (The act of avoiding or shunning)
GermanVermeidung (The act of avoiding or shunning)
Portugueseevasão, evitação, evitamento (The act of avoiding or shunning)
Spanishevitación (The act of avoiding or shunning), anulación (The act of annulling), evasión, abstinencia (A dismissing or a quitting; removal; withdrawal)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does avoidance come from?

From Middle English avoidaunce, from avoid + -ance.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after avoidance