Synonyms

prevent

American

[pri-vent] / prɪˈvɛnt /

verb (used with object)

to keep from occurring; avert; hinder.

He intervened to prevent bloodshed.

Synonyms:

thwart, obviate, preclude, forestall, obstruct

Antonyms:

assist, help
to hinder or stop from doing something.

There is nothing to prevent us from going.
Archaic. to act ahead of; forestall.
Archaic. to precede.
Archaic. to anticipate.

verb (used without object)

to interpose a hindrance.

He will come if nothing prevents.

prevent British

/ prɪˈvɛnt /

verb

(tr) to keep from happening, esp by taking precautionary action
to keep (someone from doing something); hinder; impede
(intr) to interpose or act as a hindrance
archaic (tr) to anticipate or precede

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

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.

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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:

prevent prevents prevented preventing

Those Internal Revenue Service rules are there to prevent people from taking advantage of the 1031 rule.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026

That has caused some companies to quickly launch their AI products without first putting in more mechanisms to prevent images from appearing without copyright holders’ permission.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

During a crisis, support is often essential to prevent a downward spiral that destroys the financial system.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

"The incident is being investigated as a matter of priority, and we are reviewing our processes to help prevent a similar breach from happening again."

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

I shield our disgusting jigsaw puzzle with my body to prevent water damage.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

The foreign emoluments clause prevents the president and other federal officers from accepting “Any present, emolument, office or title of any kind whatever from any king, prince, or foreign state.”

From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026

“The MMR vaccine does not cause autism,” the group says on an online fact page, adding that the measles vaccine prevents thousands of deaths a year worldwide.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

At extremely high densities, quantum effects can generate powerful pressure that prevents matter from being compressed without limit.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026

The strike prevents the airline, which flies to more than 100 destinations around the world, from flying its Boeing 737 and 787 aircraft.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

This prevents predators from seeing and eating them.

From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple

The report didn’t say whether the fixes could have prevented the accident.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

In Michigan, narrow criteria and confusion over eligibility have prevented exonerees from getting paid.

From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026

In particular, competition with early small mammals could have prevented dinosaurs from moving into the mouse-sized and sparrow-sized niches that are filled by many vertebrates today.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026

Sphagnum moss plants had helped keep some of the ground wet and prevented severe damage.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

When he spoke, it was in Gaea’s voice: This cannot be prevented.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

The results provide new insight into viruses that persist in the body and could eventually help guide strategies for preventing or treating their reactivation.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

“What happened during construction of the People Mover is important, but not as important as preventing some of the missteps from happening again.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

Your friend may — or may not — get lucky with preventing Medicaid’s estate-recovery program.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

"Not only are we protecting our physical borders from unlawful crossings, but we are also preventing immigration fraud schemes that are just another way to skirt the immigration laws of the United States," Blanche said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

He was arguing that Dr. Strayer’s testimony would run afoul of a rule preventing him from suggesting a legal conclusion to the jury.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023