1. To turn away: Mr. Pyott had to avert his eyes from the sight of the terrible auto accident that he saw on the highway.

Cathy averted her head so her mother couldn't see her face where she had bruised it when she fell on the slippery ice.

2. To ward off, to prevent, or to abstain from happening: Shirley averted an accident by driving her car carefully on a narrow street that was undergoing reconstruction, however a man who was driving in the same lane didn't avert the barrier on the side and so he had a bad accident.
3. To keep from happening or to avoid something: The quick arrival of the fire fighters averted a major forest fire.

A man who averts danger turns it away from himself.

Tim averted his eyes by turning them away.