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A child's play in which one runs after and touches another, and then runs away to avoid being touched.

Tardiness. [Obs.] To instruct them to avoid all snares of tarditation, in the Lord's affairs. Herrick.

Private; confidential; familiar. She avoided tête-à-tête walks with him. C. Kingsley.

amed the ends of headers in floor framing, as when a hole is to be left for stairs, or to avoid bringing joists near chimneys, and the like. See Illust. of Header.

One who deals in tropes; specifically, one who avoids the literal sense of the language of Scripture by explaining it as mere tropes and figures of speech.

Unavoidable; inevitable. [Obs.] Fuller.

poverish; to ruin, as in reputation, morals, hopes, or the like; as, many are undone by unavoidable losses, but more undo themselves by vices and dissipation, or by indolence. That quaffing and drinking will undo you, Shak.

we lost upon the invention of firearms. Addison. Upon the whole, it will be necessary to avoid that perpetual repetition of the same epithets which we find in Homer. Pope. He had abandoned the frontiers, retiring upon Glasgow. Sir. W. Scott. Philip swore upon the Evangelists to abstain from aggression in my absence. L…

Attentive to discover and avoid danger, or to provide for safety; wakeful; watchful; circumspect; wary. "Be sober, be vigilant." 1 Pet. v. 8. Sirs, take your places, and be vigilant. Shak.

Capable of being avoided, or of being adjudged void, invalid, and of no force; capable of being either avoided or confirmed. If the metropolitan . . . grants letters of administration, such administration is not, but voidable by sentence. Ayliffe.

A sudden movement to avoid a thrust.

charge of powder in a gun, or for keeping the powder and shot close; also, to diminish or avoid the effects of windage. Also, by extension, a dusk of felt, pasteboard, etc., serving a similar purpose.

or guarded; as, to be watchful of one's behavior; and with against before the thing to be avoided; as, to be watchful against the growth of vicious habits. "Many a watchful night." Shak. "Happy watchful shepherds." Milton. 'Twixt prayer and watchful love his heart dividing. Keble.

To avoid taking notice, as if by shutting the eyes; to connive at anything; to be tolerant; -- generally with at. The times of this ignorance God winked at. Acts xvii. 30. And yet, as though he knew it not, His knowledge winks, and lets his humors reign. Herbert. Obstinacy can not be winked at, but must be subdued. Loc…

ntation of God, or of gods, in the form, or with the attributes, of the lower animals. To avoid the error of anthropomorphism, we fall into the vastly greater, and more absurd, error of zoömorphism. Mivart.