Averters

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person or thing that prevents or turns away something undesirable from occurring
2. An entity that actively stops or avoids unpleasant outcomes or events
3. Someone who diverts negative situations or circumstances from happening

Etymology: "Averters" is the plural of "averter," a noun formed by adding the agent suffix "-er" to the verb "avert." The verb itself came into English from Latin "avertere," meaning "to turn away," built from "a-" (away) and "vertere" (to turn), the same root that gives English "verse," "version," and "convert." So an averter is, quite literally, something or someone that turns trouble away. The suffix has a longer trail than the noun. The "-er" ending descends from Latin "-arius," which passed into Old French as "-ier" and then into Middle English, while the Old English "-ere" came down from the same Latin source through Germanic. English speakers have been attaching this suffix to verbs for centuries, which is why "averter" reads as a natural formation even though it is a modern-style coinage built on a borrowed verb.

Synonyms: preventers, avoiders, dissuaders, thwarters, diverters

Antonyms: causers, enablers, facilitators, promoters, encouragers