What does evitate mean?
Evitate is a rare English verb meaning to avoid or shun — to keep deliberately away from a person, place, or thing. Formed on the same Latin root as 'avoid' and 'inevitable' (Latin evitare, 'to flee from'), it entered English in scholarly and literary circles but never gained the currency of its shorter rival. In practice it appears almost exclusively in older texts, antiquarian prose, or deliberate archaisms, so a modern reader is far more likely to meet it in a dictionary than in conversation. When it does occur, it carries a formal, slightly bookish tone: one might say a recluse 'evitated all human company.' Writers seeking a striking synonym for 'avoid' may find it useful precisely because of its rarity, though clarity usually favors the common alternatives. Its closest living relatives are words like 'inevitable,' which preserve the Latin idea of what cannot be fled from.
verbTo avoid or shun; to keep away from a person or thing deliberately. A rare and somewhat archaic synonym of 'avoid'.
- To avoid, shun, or keep away from (a person, place, or thing).
"He took the long way home to evitate the crowds at the market."
"The hermit evitated all human company for years."
"She carefully evitated any topic that might spark an argument."
Before 'avoid' took over English, writers could reach for 'evitate' — a word so obscure that most dictionaries today list it only as a historical curiosity.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of evitate
Evitate derives from the Latin verb evitare, meaning 'to avoid, escape, or flee from,' formed from e- ('out of') plus vitare ('to avoid, shun'). It passed into English in early modern times alongside other Latinate learned borrowings, but remained marginal next to the native 'avoid' (itself influenced by the same Latin family via Old French). The same root survives transparently in 'inevitable' — literally 'not able to be avoided' — which is by far the most familiar member of this word family in modern English.
How evitate is actually used
Extremely rare in modern usage; encountered mainly in older literature or as a deliberate archaism. 'Avoid', 'eschew', or 'shun' are the natural choices in contemporary writing.
Easily confused with evitate
'Avoid' is the common everyday word for keeping away from something; 'evitate' is an extremely rare Latinate variant meaning the same but found almost only in older or highly literary texts.
'Evade' means to escape from or elude something through cleverness or deceit, while 'evitate' simply means to avoid or steer clear of it.