prevent
Americanverb (used with object)
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to keep from occurring; avert; hinder.
He intervened to prevent bloodshed.
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to hinder or stop from doing something.
There is nothing to prevent us from going.
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Archaic. to act ahead of; forestall.
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Archaic. to precede.
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Archaic. to anticipate.
verb (used without object)
verb
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(tr) to keep from happening, esp by taking precautionary action
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to keep (someone from doing something); hinder; impede
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(intr) to interpose or act as a hindrance
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archaic (tr) to anticipate or precede
Related Words
Prevent, hamper, hinder, impede refer to different degrees of stoppage of action or progress. To prevent is to stop something effectually by forestalling action and rendering it impossible: to prevent the sending of a message. To hamper is to clog or entangle or put an embarrassing restraint upon: to hamper preparations for a trip. To hinder is to keep back by delaying or stopping progress or action: to hinder the progress of an expedition. To impede is to make difficult the movement or progress of anything by interfering with its proper functioning: to impede a discussion by demanding repeated explanations.
Other Word Forms
- nonpreventable adjective
- nonpreventible adjective
- preventability noun
- preventabilty noun
- preventable adjective
- preventably adverb
- preventible adjective
- preventingly adverb
- quasi-prevented adjective
- unpreventable adjective
- unprevented adjective
- unpreventible adjective
Etymology
Origin of prevent
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin praeventus “anticipated,” past participle of praevenīre “to anticipate,” equivalent to prae- pre- ( def. ) + venīre “to come”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Lahyani got down from his chair as ball boys looked to prevent it toppling over.
From BBC
Arab states thought they had successfully lobbied the U.S. to prevent such attacks after an earlier Israeli strike on fuel depots in Tehran.
The limited five-day postponement “may prevent a stronger and more lasting rally,” Woods added.
From Barron's
"Then we landed very roughly… Everyone felt it. It was like the plane jolted and you heard the pilot try to brake trying to prevent the collision."
From BBC
Beyond those changes, little new information was revealed by Key and Gould – perhaps an admission that the mistakes of the Ashes tour could have been prevented before the tour began.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
