Oxford directly documents averse to (doing) something. This is a prepositional to + noun/-ing construction, so a bare infinitive should not be assumed to be an interchangeable complement.
ReviewedEvidence1 sourceSectionEnglish Usage
Quick answer
Use “averse to doing” for being opposed to an activity. Oxford documents averse to (doing) something, with to functioning as a preposition.
Key details
Confusion Familyverb-complement
Rule Familyverb-complementation
Termsaverse to doing, averse to do
Further guidance
Core difference
Use averse to + noun/-ing for the documented construction.
Style Boundary
Keep prepositional to separate from infinitival to; do not infer a parallel infinitive construction from spelling alone.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
Cambridge directly records amazed + to-infinitive and amazed at + complement, making it an evidence-safe replacement for the unsupported Satisfied proposal.
Oxford directly records both ashamed + to-infinitive and ashamed of + noun/pronoun. The guide compares those attested structures without inventing an unsupported parallel complement.
Oxford documents the idiomatic adjective pattern bent on (doing) something for determination. The evidence does not license a parallel bent + to-infinitive complement for that same meaning.
Cambridge directly records certain + to-infinitive and certain of + noun, allowing the two attested structures to be compared without claiming they are freely interchangeable.
