\A*void"ance\, n.
1. The act of annulling; annulment.
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. A dismissing or a quitting; removal; withdrawal.
4. The act of avoiding or shunning; keeping clear of. ``The
   avoidance of pain.'' --Beattie.
5. The courts by which anything is carried off.
         Avoidances and drainings of water.    --Bacon.