Prevent and avoid - these verbs mean doing something to minimize the impact of problems before they happen (before they crop up - crop means "úroda", so crop up means "grow up and produce fruit", a metaphor connected with problems). The usual translations are "zabrániť" and "vyhnúť (sa)", so "preventing" means doing something positive to stop or block the way for something bad, so that it doesn't even reach you, whereas "avoiding" means getting out of the way of the bad thing, so that it doesn't touch you as it goes past. This means that preventing is more proactive, while avoiding is more reactive, even passive. Another word for prevent is pre-empt (literally - from Latin - to buy something before someone else), and instead of avoid you can say "duck" or "dodge" (uhnúť sa) - more like physical movements, duck = downwards, dodge = sideways