D defs.my
Entry 5 senses Webster, 1913

Avoidance

/əv-oid'-əns/ · A·void·ance · IPA /əˈvɔɪdəns/
01 n. The act of annulling; annulment.
  1. 1.
    The act of annulling; annulment.
  2. 2.
    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.
    “Wolsey, . . . on every avoidance of St. Peter's chair, was sitting down therein, when suddenly some one or other clapped in before him.” Fuller.
  3. 3.
    A dismissing or a quitting; removal; withdrawal.
  4. 4.
    The act of avoiding or shunning; keeping clear of.
  5. 5.
    The courts by which anything is carried off.
    Avoidances and drainings of water.” Bacon.