preclude
Americanverb (used with object)
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precludes,
present (3rd person singular)
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precluded,
past participle, past
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precluding
present participle
verb
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to exclude or debar
-
to make impossible, esp beforehand
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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preclusionnoun
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precludableadjective
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preclusiveadjective
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unprecludableadjective
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unpreclusiveadjective
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preclusivelyadverb
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unpreclusivelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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precludesimple
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precludessimple
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have precludedperfect
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has precludedperfect
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am precludingprogressive
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are precludingprogressive
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is precludingprogressive
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have been precludingperfect progressive
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has been precludingperfect progressive
Past
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precludedsimple
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had precludedperfect
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was precludingprogressive
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were precludingprogressive
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had been precludingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of preclude
First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin praeclūdere “to shut off, close,” equivalent to prae- pre- + -clūdere, combining form of claudere “to shut, close ”
Compare meaning
How does preclude compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
To preclude something is to prevent it from happening. A muzzle precludes a dog from biting. This is a very formal word, but it has a simple meaning: when something is precluded, it can't happen. See the prefix pre in preclude and in prevent? It is signaling that these words are all about things done before another action would happen — to make it impossible. Staying away from water precludes the possibility of drowning, though it also precludes any chance of having fun swimming.
Vocabulary lists containing preclude
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Power Prefix: pre-
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300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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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.
See Examples For:
Mozeliak has said he did not believe that the Angels need to rebuild, that the resources available to a team in the second-largest market in the majors should preclude outright tanking.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026
He said the vetting landscape in 2009, though not as strict as today, should still have meant Greer's past would preclude entry to the police.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
The narrow ruling did not preclude her eventual removal.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
"This doesn't preclude some relatively minor modification of the fiscal rules to allow somewhat more borrowing for investment, but not for current spending," he said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026
The distance between close “neighbors,” even if it were considerably less than the average, would seem to preclude frequent popping in for a chat.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
The local “Happy Hour” regulation makes it difficult for bars to discount drinks and precludes them from delivering more than two drinks to a person at one time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Provinces could still favor Canadian suppliers, but cannot have direct language that precludes a US supplier from a project.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
It feels then something like that classic philosophical paradox of an immovable object encountering an unstoppable force: logically impossible because the existence of one precludes the other.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2026
“If the merger does occur, nothing precludes the department from taking an enforcement action in the future if anticompetitive effects are found,” the spokeswoman said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
“Absolutely. Owls are wise. They are carefu and patient. Wisdom precludes boldness.”
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
But some of them seemed to dispute the defence's claim that postpartum psychosis - a rare post-childbirth condition characterised by mania and depression - precluded Clancy from criminal liability.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
Reading the Westfall Act with close “attention to its text,” he concluded, shows that Congress has not precluded laws like Maine’s.
From Slate ● Apr. 15, 2026
Comey had asked Currie to dismiss the case “with prejudice,” a move that would have precluded reviving the case.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
I could have claimed Austrian retirement on my 65th birthday in 2023, but concerns about the Windfall Elimination Provision interfering with my Social Security benefits precluded this.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 4, 2025
It precluded anyone from treating zero as a number.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Under the provisions of the 1998 Northern Ireland Act, regulations governing the flag had become "a transferred prerogative matter", precluding Her Majesty's "command on flags … having any legal effect in Northern Ireland".
From BBC ● Dec. 30, 2025
“What they want to do is get people up and running to start building the bank, rather than precluding people at the front end,” Portilla said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2025
By comparison, even the best available practical hydrogen storage tanks allow the gas to leak out at a rate of about 1 percent per day, precluding any uses that would require year-long storage, Li says.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2023
His ability to remix and rematch pieces adds depth to his closet, precluding the need for a bigger one.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2023
“It means,” said Baaz, “that it will be added to your debts. By my own quick calculations, you should be able to pay it back in approximately thirty-five years, precluding interest.”
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
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.
