evitar

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin ēvītāre.

Verb

evitar (first-person singular indicative present evito, past participle evitáu)

1. to avoid

Conjugation

Conjugation of evitar

infinitive		evitar
gerund		evitando
past participle		m evitáu, f evitada, n evitao, m pl evitaos, f pl evitaes
person		first singular yo	second singular tu	third singular él/elli	first plural nosotros/nós	second plural vosotros/vós	third plural ellos
indicative	present	evito	evites	evita	evitamos	evitáis	eviten
	imperfect	evitaba	evitabes	evitaba	evitábemos, evitábamos	evitabeis, evitabais	evitaben
	preterite	evité	evitasti, evitesti	evitó	evitemos	evitastis, evitestis	evitaron
	pluperfect	evitare, evitara	evitares, evitaras	evitare, evitara	evitáremos, evitáramos	evitareis, evitarais	evitaren, evitaran
	future	evitaré	evitarás	evitará	evitaremos	evitaréis	evitarán
	conditional	evitaría	evitaríes	evitaría	evitaríemos, evitaríamos	evitaríeis, evitaríais	evitaríen
subjunctive	present	evite	evites, evitas	evite	evitemos	evitéis	eviten, evitan
	imperfect	evitare, evitara	evitares, evitaras	evitare, evitara	evitáremos, evitáramos	evitareis, evitarais	evitaren, evitaran
imperative		—	evita	—	—	evitái	—

Catalan

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin ēvītāre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Central) [ə.βiˈta]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ə.viˈta]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [e.viˈtaɾ]
• IPA^(key): (Northwestern) [e.βiˈta]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

• Homophone: habitar (Central)

Verb

evitar (first-person singular present evito, first-person singular preterite evití, past participle evitat)

1. to avoid, prevent from happening or encountering

Conjugation

    Central Catalan conjugation of evitar (first conjugation)

infinitive			evitar
gerund			evitant
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		evitat		evitada
		plural		evitats		evitades
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	evito	evites	evita	evitem	eviteu	eviten
	imperfect	evitava	evitaves	evitava	evitàvem	evitàveu	evitaven
	future	evitaré	evitaràs	evitarà	evitarem	evitareu	evitaran
	preterite	evití	evitares	evità	evitàrem	evitàreu	evitaren
	conditional	evitaria	evitaries	evitaria	evitaríem	evitaríeu	evitarien
subjunctive		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	eviti	evitis	eviti	evitem	eviteu	evitin
	imperfect	evités	evitessis	evités	evitéssim	evitéssiu	evitessin
imperative		—	tu	vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres vós	vostès
	affirmative	—	evita	eviti	evitem	eviteu	evitin
	negative (no)	—	no evitis	no eviti	no evitem	no eviteu	no evitin

Related terms

• evitable
• evitació

Further reading

• “evitar”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “evitar”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “evitar” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “evitar”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

Galician

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰ

Proto-Indo-European *-s

Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰs

Proto-Italic *eks

Latin ex

Latin ex-

Proto-Indo-European *de

Proto-Indo-European *-h₁

Proto-Indo-European *déh₁

Proto-Italic *dē

Latin dē

Latin dē-

Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁-

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Indo-European *wih₁tós

Proto-Italic *wītos

Latin *vītus

Latin *dēvītusbf.

Latin *vītus

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.

Proto-Italic *-ājō

Proto-Italic *-āō

Latin -ō

?

Latin vītō

Latin ēvītāreder.

Galician evitar

Derived from Latin ēvītāre.

Verb

evitar (first-person singular present evito, first-person singular preterite evitei, past participle evitado)

1. to avoid

Conjugation

    Conjugation of evitar

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (ti)	Third-person (el / ela / Vde.)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / Vdes.)
Infinitive
Impersonal	evitar
Personal	evitar	evitares	evitar	evitarmos	evitardes	evitaren
Gerund
	evitando
Past participle
Masculine	evitado			evitados
Feminine	evitada			evitadas
Indicative
Present	evito	evitas	evita	evitamos	evitades	evitan
Imperfect	evitaba	evitabas	evitaba	evitabamos	evitabades	evitaban
Preterite	evitei	evitaches	evitou	evitamos	evitastes	evitaron
Pluperfect	evitara	evitaras	evitara	evitaramos	evitarades	evitaran
Future	evitarei	evitarás	evitará	evitaremos	evitaredes	evitarán
Conditional	evitaría	evitarías	evitaría	evitariamos	evitariades	evitarían
Subjunctive
Present	evite	evites	evite	evitemos	evitedes	eviten
Imperfect	evitase	evitases	evitase	evitásemos	evitásedes	evitasen
Future	evitar	evitares	evitar	evitarmos	evitardes	evitaren
Imperative
Affirmative		evita	evite	evitemos	evitade	eviten
Negative (non)		non evites	non evite	non evitemos	non evitedes	non eviten

    Reintegrated conjugation of evitar (See Appendix:Reintegrationism)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (ti / tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	evitar
Personal	evitar	evitares	evitar	evitarmos	evitardes	evitarem
Gerund
	evitando
Past participle
Masculine	evitado			evitados
Feminine	evitada			evitadas
Indicative
Present	evito	evitas	evita	evitamos	evitades, evitais	evitam
Imperfect	evitava	evitavas	evitava	evitávamos	evitávades, evitáveis, evitávais1	evitavam
Preterite	evitei	evitaste, evitache1	evitou	evitamos	evitastes	evitárom, evitaram
Pluperfect	evitara	evitaras	evitara	evitáramos	evitárades, evitáreis, evitárais1	evitaram
Future	evitarei	evitarás	evitará	evitaremos	evitaredes, evitareis	evitarám, evitarão
Conditional	evitaria	evitarias	evitaria	evitaríamos	evitaríades, evitaríeis, evitaríais1	evitariam
Subjunctive
Present	evite	evites	evite	evitemos	evitedes, eviteis	evitem
Imperfect	evitasse	evitasses	evitasse	evitássemos	evitássedes, evitásseis	evitassem
Future	evitar	evitares	evitar	evitarmos	evitardes	evitarem
Imperative
Affirmative		evita	evite	evitemos	evitade, evitai	evitem
Negative (nom)		nom evites	nom evite	nom evitemos	nom evitedes, nom eviteis	nom evitem

¹Less recommended.

Related terms

• evitábel, evitable

Further reading

• “evitar”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026
• “evitar”, in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (in Galician), 2014–2026

Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰ

Proto-Indo-European *-s

Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰs

Proto-Italic *eks

Latin ex

Latin ex-

Proto-Indo-European *de

Proto-Indo-European *-h₁

Proto-Indo-European *déh₁

Proto-Italic *dē

Latin dē

Latin dē-

Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁-

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Indo-European *wih₁tós

Proto-Italic *wītos

Latin *vītus

Latin *dēvītusbf.

Latin *vītus

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.

Proto-Italic *-ājō

Proto-Italic *-āō

Latin -ō

?

Latin vītō

Latin ēvītārelbor.

Portuguese evitar

Learned borrowing from Latin ēvītāre.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /e.viˈta(ʁ)/ [e.viˈta(h)]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /e.viˈta(ʁ)/ [e.viˈta(h)]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /e.viˈta(ɾ)/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /e.viˈta(ʁ)/ [e.viˈta(χ)]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /e.viˈta(ɻ)/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /i.viˈtaɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /i.viˈtaɾ/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /i.biˈtaɾ/ [i.βiˈtaɾ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /i.viˈta.ɾi/

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: e‧vi‧tar

Verb

evitar (first-person singular present evito, first-person singular preterite evitei, past participle evitado)

1. to avoid

Conjugation

    Conjugation of evitar (See Appendix:Portuguese verbs)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	evitar
Personal	evitar	evitares	evitar	evitarmos	evitardes	evitarem
Gerund
	evitando
Past participle
Masculine	evitado			evitados
Feminine	evitada			evitadas
Indicative
Present	evito	evitas	evita	evitamos	evitais	evitam
Imperfect	evitava	evitavas	evitava	evitávamos	evitáveis	evitavam
Preterite	evitei	evitaste	evitou	evitamos1, evitámos2	evitastes	evitaram
Pluperfect	evitara	evitaras	evitara	evitáramos	evitáreis	evitaram
Future	evitarei	evitarás	evitará	evitaremos	evitareis	evitarão
Conditional	evitaria	evitarias	evitaria	evitaríamos	evitaríeis	evitariam
Subjunctive
Present	evite	evites	evite	evitemos	eviteis	evitem
Imperfect	evitasse	evitasses	evitasse	evitássemos	evitásseis	evitassem
Future	evitar	evitares	evitar	evitarmos	evitardes	evitarem
Imperative
Affirmative		evita	evite	evitemos	evitai	evitem
Negative (não)		não evites	não evite	não evitemos	não eviteis	não evitem

¹Brazilian Portuguese.
²European Portuguese.

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:evitar.

Related terms

• evitável

Further reading

• “evitar”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “evitar”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰ

Proto-Indo-European *-s

Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰs

Proto-Italic *eks

Latin ex

Latin ex-

Proto-Indo-European *de

Proto-Indo-European *-h₁

Proto-Indo-European *déh₁

Proto-Italic *dē

Latin dē

Latin dē-

Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁-

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Indo-European *wih₁tós

Proto-Italic *wītos

Latin *vītus

Latin *dēvītusbf.

Latin *vītus

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.

Proto-Italic *-ājō

Proto-Italic *-āō

Latin -ō

?

Latin vītō

Latin ēvītōlbor.

Old Spanish evitar

Spanish evitar

Inherited from Old Spanish evitar, a learned borrowing from Latin ēvītāre. Related to English inevitable.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ebiˈtaɾ/ [e.β̞iˈt̪aɾ]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: e‧vi‧tar

Verb

evitar (first-person singular present evito, first-person singular preterite evité, past participle evitado)

1. to avoid, to bypass, to evade, to circumvent, to dodge, to shun, to eschew (to steer clear of)

   Synonyms: rehuir, esquivar

   Después de haberlo evitado muchas horas, acabó por decirnos la verdad.

   After having avoided it for several hours, he ended up telling us the truth.

2. to avoid, to prevent, to keep from, to stop from, to avert, to obviate, to deter
3. to help (abstain from doing) (always in the negative)

   No puedo evitar pensar en lo que podría haber sido si yo simplemente hubiera tomado el riesgo.

   I can't help but wonder what could have been if I had just taken the risk.

4. to spare, to save (to relieve someone having to experience something)
5. to guard against, to ward off
6. (reflexive) to spare oneself

Conjugation

    Conjugation of evitar (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			evitar
gerund			evitando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		evitado		evitada
		plural		evitados		evitadas
		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	evito	evitastú evitásvos	evita	evitamos	evitáis	evitan
	imperfect	evitaba	evitabas	evitaba	evitábamos	evitabais	evitaban
	preterite	evité	evitaste	evitó	evitamos	evitasteis	evitaron
	future	evitaré	evitarás	evitará	evitaremos	evitaréis	evitarán
	conditional	evitaría	evitarías	evitaría	evitaríamos	evitaríais	evitarían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	evite	evitestú evitésvos2	evite	evitemos	evitéis	eviten
	imperfect (ra)	evitara	evitaras	evitara	evitáramos	evitarais	evitaran
	imperfect (se)	evitase	evitases	evitase	evitásemos	evitaseis	evitasen
	future1	evitare	evitares	evitare	evitáremos	evitareis	evitaren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		evitatú evitávos	evite	evitemos	evitad	eviten
	negative		no evites	no evite	no evitemos	no evitéis	no eviten

¹Rare; now chiefly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tuteo-form for the present subjunctive.

    Selected combined forms of evitar

These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
with infinitive evitar	dative	evitarme	evitarte	evitarle, evitarse	evitarnos	evitaros	evitarles, evitarse
	accusative	evitarme	evitarte	evitarlo, evitarla, evitarse	evitarnos	evitaros	evitarlos, evitarlas, evitarse
with gerund evitando	dative	evitándome	evitándote	evitándole, evitándose	evitándonos	evitándoos	evitándoles, evitándose
	accusative	evitándome	evitándote	evitándolo, evitándola, evitándose	evitándonos	evitándoos	evitándolos, evitándolas, evitándose
with informal second-person singular tuteo imperative evita	dative	evítame	evítate	evítale	evítanos	not used	evítales
	accusative	evítame	evítate	evítalo, evítala	evítanos	not used	evítalos, evítalas
with informal second-person singular voseo imperative evitá	dative	evitame	evitate	evitale	evitanos	not used	evitales
	accusative	evitame	evitate	evitalo, evitala	evitanos	not used	evitalos, evitalas
with formal second-person singular imperative evite	dative	evíteme	not used	evítele, evítese	evítenos	not used	evíteles
	accusative	evíteme	not used	evítelo, evítela, evítese	evítenos	not used	evítelos, evítelas
with first-person plural imperative evitemos	dative	not used	evitémoste	evitémosle	evitémonos	evitémoos	evitémosles
	accusative	not used	evitémoste	evitémoslo, evitémosla	evitémonos	evitémoos	evitémoslos, evitémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative evitad	dative	evitadme	not used	evitadle	evitadnos	evitaos	evitadles
	accusative	evitadme	not used	evitadlo, evitadla	evitadnos	evitaos	evitadlos, evitadlas
with formal second-person plural imperative eviten	dative	evítenme	not used	evítenle	evítennos	not used	evítenles, evítense
	accusative	evítenme	not used	evítenlo, evítenla	evítennos	not used	evítenlos, evítenlas, evítense

Derived terms

• evitar como la plaga

Related terms

• evitable
• evitación
• inevitable

Further reading

• “evitar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025