(n.) The act of becoming vacant or the state of being vacant; -- specifically used for the state of a benefice becoming void by the death, deprivation or resignation of the incumbent.
(a.) To keep away from; to keep clear of; to endeavor no to meet; to shun; to abstain from; as, to avoid the company of gamesters.
(a.) To defeat or evade; to invalidate. Thus, in a replication, the plaintiff may deny the defendant's plea or confess it, and avoid it by stating new matter.