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
Synonym Usage
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
Derived Forms
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unpreventibleadjective
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preventabiltynoun
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preventabilitynoun
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nonpreventableadjective
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preventibleadjective
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nonpreventibleadjective
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preventableadjective
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unpreventableadjective
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preventablyadverb
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preventinglyadverb
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quasi-preventedadjective
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unpreventedadjective
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has preventedperfect 3rd person singular
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have preventedperfect
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has been preventingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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is preventingprogressive 3rd person singular
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am preventingprogressive 1st person singular
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have been preventingperfect progressive
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are preventingprogressive
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preventssingular 3rd person
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preventingparticiple
Past
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had preventedperfect
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had been preventingperfect progressive
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was preventingprogressive singular
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were preventingprogressive plural
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preventedparticiple
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preventedsimple
Future
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”
Explanation
The verb prevent means "to keep something from happening," like when you use a complicated password to prevent hackers from accessing your account. Prevent comes from the Latin word praeventus, meaning "to act in anticipation of," like when you shovel the icy, snow-covered sidewalk to prevent people from falling. Prevent can also mean "to make impossible," like when a school locks the doors during a dance to prevent kids from leaving without their parents knowing.
Vocabulary lists containing prevent
"Handle with Care"
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The Search Is Over: Synonyms for "Stop"
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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.
The suspect has a "history of serious violence and mental health issues" and had been referred into the government counter-terrorism Prevent programme in 2020, according to the Metropolitan Police.
From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026
The Metropolitan Police said he had a "history of serious violence and mental health issues", and he was referred into the government counter-terrorism Prevent programme in 2020.
From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026
People should be screened for their risk of cardiovascular disease starting at age 30, using an AHA online calculator called Prevent that measures risk based on a person’s cholesterol, blood pressure, and other indicators.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026
The same is true if they have a family history of atherosclerotic disease at an early age or a high risk of developing it over the next three decades as measured by the Prevent calculator.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026
Lady, accept the box a hero wore, In spite of all this elegiac stuff: Let not seven stanzas written by a bore, Prevent your Ladyship from taking snuff!
From The Works of Lord Byron, Vol. 7. Poetry by Coleridge, Ernest Hartley
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.
