"Obviate" is very formal and pretty common. It has a positive tone: you obviate bad stuff, or stuff that's pesky or tedious, and that's a good thing, saving you time, effort, or money.

You might talk about people obviating things, like risks, dangers, problems, issues, or the need for certain things, like fees, work, steps, equipment, employees, etc.

Note that we most often talk about obviating things, like rudeness, rather than obviating people, like rude passengers. Unless you really do mean that you're eliminating the need for certain people to be involved, as in "We fear that artificial intelligence will obviate millions of low-wage workers."

It's pretty common to talk about "obviating the need for" something and "obviating the necessity of" something. Those phrases may be redundant, but they remain popular and idiomatic. That is, even though you'd get your point across slightly faster if you say "I didn't mind the face masks; they obviated having to smile at people," you'll sound more natural if you say "I didn't mind the face masks; they obviated the need to smile at people."

"We need to know what we want from [devices like smartphones]: Do we want them to obviate problem solving? To make our lives frictionless? Or do we want these new devices to enhance our problem solving – not to make problems disappear but assist us with solving them?"
— Evgeny Morozov as quoted by Ian Tucker, The Guardian, 9 March 2013

"Our [hamburger-making] device isn't meant to make employees more efficient. It's meant to completely obviate them."
— Alexandros Vardakostas, as quoted by Martin Ford, Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future, 2015

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If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "obviate" without saying "dodge" or "make unnecessary."

try it out:

In the New York Times, Alexandra Jacobs discusses celebrities who attend red-carpet events scantily clad. She says that by wearing practically nothing at all, these celebrities "are obviating the automatic question, 'Who are you wearing?'"

It seems a pretty extreme way to obviate an annoying question.

What's an annoying question that you get a lot in your day-to-day life? Could you think of a reasonable way you could obviate that question, as well as a really ridiculous, extreme way to obviate it?

If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.)

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for March is "Tidbits and Titles: Books That Became Movies!"

I provide the tidbits; you provide the title. And every answer will be a book that has been made into a movie. To see the answer, scroll all the way down. Let's play!

Here's a quote from the book:
"You mean only a half of Mike is coming back to us?" she cried.
"Let's hope it's the top half," said Mr. Teavee.

Here are some words and phrases that often appear in that book: Bar of chocolate, cacao beans, chewing, don't, excitement, factory, Golden Ticket, gum, machine, pipe, river, rushed, screamed, squirrel, sweets, television, wonderful.

What's the book's title?

review this word:

1. The opposite of OBVIATE is

A. CLARIFY (to make clear).
B. OBFUSCATE (to make dark or unclear).
C. NECESSITATE (to require or involve).

2. A common theme in letters to advice columnists is how to obviate _____

A. rude dining companions, like the kind who take calls at the table.
B. rude questions, like "Your kids look so different! Do they have the same dad?"
C. rude customers, like the ones who whistle at the waitstaff as if they're dogs.

Answers to the review questions: 1. C 2. B Answer to the game question: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It's also great if you came up with one of the movie titles: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.