Be Averse To Doing vs. Averse To Do
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.
Use “averse to doing” for being opposed to an activity. Oxford documents averse to (doing) something, with to functioning as a preposition.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| opposition to an activity | averse to + -ing | “to” is a preposition; use the -ing form |
| opposition to a thing/idea | averse to + noun | use a noun after the preposition |
| bare infinitive after averse | averse to + base verb | do not treat this as the equivalent activity complement |
Quick tests
Preposition test
Does “averse to” mean opposed or unwilling toward an activity or thing?
If yes: Treat “to” as a preposition and use a noun or -ing form.
If no: If you need a different construction, recast rather than forcing an infinitive after “averse.”
Caveat: The documented pattern is “averse to (doing) something”; the spelling “to” does not make it an infinitive marker here.
Examples
She is averse to changing the schedule.
The activity follows prepositional “to” as an -ing form.
They are averse to unnecessary risk.
A noun can follow the same preposition.
She is averse to change the schedule.
Better: She is averse to changing the schedule.
For the documented activity pattern, use “to changing,” not a bare infinitive.
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.
- averse adjective — Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Oxford University Press · Preferred-dictionary evidence for averse to (doing) something