stave off vs ward off

stave off and ward off both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
stave off	No	No	Yes	No
ward off	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, stave off and ward off are synonyms defined as:

stave off and ward off: prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening; to protect from or to keep away anything undesirable; to ward off

Other synonyms of stave off include avert, avoid, debar, deflect, fend off, forefend, forfend, head off, obviate.

stave off (verb)	ward off (verb)
prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening; to protect from or to keep away anything undesirable; to ward off	avert, turn away, or repel
	prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening; to protect from or to keep away anything undesirable; to ward off