ward off

W w

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [wawrd awf, of]
- /wɔrd ɔf, ɒf/
- /wɔːd ɒf/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [wawrd awf, of]
- /wɔrd ɔf, ɒf/

Definitions of ward off words

noun ward off a division or district of a city or town, as for administrative or political purposes. 1
noun ward off one of the districts into which certain English and Scottish boroughs are divided. 1
noun ward off a division, floor, or room of a hospital for a particular class or group of patients: a convalescent ward; a critical ward. 1
noun ward off any of the separate divisions of a prison. 1
noun ward off a political subdivision of a parish in Louisiana. 1
noun ward off Mormon Church. one of the subdivisions of a stake, presided over by a bishop. 1

See all 22 definitions of ward off

Information block about the term

Origin of ward off

First appearance:

before 900

One of the 4% oldest English words

before 900; (noun) Middle English warde, Old English weard; (v.) Middle English warden, Old English weardian; cognate with Middle Dutch waerden, German warten; cf. guard

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Ward off

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Ward off

ward off popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 92% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

ward off usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for ward off

verb ward off

avert — If you avert something unpleasant, you prevent it from happening.
avoid — If you avoid something unpleasant that might happen, you take action in order to prevent it from happening.
beat back — to force to retreat; drive back
beat off — to drive back; repel
chambered — having a chamber inside it in which the body of an important person was laid to rest

All 60 Synonyms of ward off