Avvärjer

Avvärjer is a Swedish verb meaning to ward off, avert, prevent, or foil something. It is the present tense form used with third-person singular subjects: han avvärjer, hon avvärjer. The base verb is avvärja, a transitive verb that requires a direct object: att avvärja en attack, att avvärja ett hot, att avvärja skada.

Grammatical notes: avvärja belongs to the class of strong verbs in Swedish; the past tense is avvärjde and the supine is avvärjt. The perfect form is har avvärjt. It is typically used with a direct object to specify what is being prevented or deterred.

Origins and related terms: avärja is formed from the prefix av- meaning away or off, together with värja, meaning to defend or ward off. The root värja is cognate with older Germanic terms for guarding or protecting, and the overall sense of avvärja is to take action to stop a threat from materializing.

Usage and nuances: the term is common in security, military, law enforcement, and policy discourse, as well as in everyday language when describing preventive actions. It can describe concrete measures (avvärja en attack, avvärja en skada) or more figurative preventive efforts (avvärja ett hot, avvärja kritik). In formal prose, avvärja may be preferred over more general verbs like förhindra or motverka when the emphasis is on stopping an imminent harm.

See also: bekämpa, förhindra, motverka, skydda.