to avoid
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to avoid
To consciously not do something undesirable, negative, or dangerous, or to stay away from a situation in order to prevent it.
Um Fehler zu vermeiden, sollten Sie die Anleitung sorgfältig lesen.
To avoid mistakes, you should read the instructions carefully.
'Vermeiden' (to avoid) is a stronger form of 'meiden' (to avoid/shun). While 'meiden' often refers to a person or place that you personally don't like, 'vermeiden' refers to actively preventing negative events or outcomes.
Er versucht, öffentliche Auftritte zu meiden.
He tries to avoid public appearances.
'Vermeiden' (to avoid) is very often used with an infinitive construction with 'zu' to describe an action that you do not want to do. You can also use the structure 'es vermeiden, ... zu ...' (to avoid ...-ing).
Sie vermeidet es, spät abends allein durch den Park zu gehen.
She avoids walking through the park alone late in the evening.
'Vermeiden' (to avoid) is almost always used with negative things that you do not want. Typical objects in the accusative are: mistakes, stress, conflicts, misunderstandings, risks.
Durch gute Planung können wir unnötigen Stress vermeiden.
With good planning, we can avoid unnecessary stress.
to prevent
Both words refer to something undesirable that should not happen. Verhindern emphasizes actively making sure that the event does not happen, while vermeiden means consciously choosing not to take a problematic action or enter a problematic situation. When the focus is on the event, verhindern is usually used; when the focus is on avoiding something oneself, use vermeiden.
Wir lesen die Anleitung sorgfältig, um einen Fehler zu vermeiden.
We read the instructions carefully to avoid a mistake.
Die Lehrerin prüft die Aufgabe noch einmal, um einen Fehler zu verhindern.
The teacher checked the assignment again to prevent a mistake.
