Ward off means to keep something unwanted away, to stop a threat from reaching you. Thick curtains ward off the evening chill; a fan wards off mosquitoes. The classic phrase is ward off evil spirits, which gives the verb its protective, almost magical feel.
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ward off a threat / attack / chill; ward something off; ward it off
- The thick curtains helped ward off the evening chill.
- He raised an arm to ward off the blow.
- The team introduced extra checks to ward off future problems.
What changed
First versionMosquitoes were everywhere, so we lit candles to ward off them.
RevisionMosquitoes were everywhere, so we lit candles to ward them off.
We say keep them away or repel them, so ward off them seems natural. But with a phrasal verb a short pronoun goes inside: ward them off. A noun can go either way: ward off the insects, ward the insects off.
Avoid means stay away from something yourself. Ward off means stop something that is coming towards you. Stave off means delay trouble for a while: stave off hunger until dinner.
Your turn
Choose the correct pronoun position: The insects kept approaching, so we used a fan to ___.
Show the answer
ward them off — With ward off, the short pronoun them goes between ward and off: ward them off.
Describe something you did for protection and what it kept away.
We hung a heavy curtain across the doorway to ward off the cold draught.
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