prevent

[pri-vent]

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verb (used with object)

to keep from occurring; avert; hinder: He intervened to prevent bloodshed.

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.

Origin of prevent

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin praeventus (past participle of praevenīre “to anticipate”), equivalent to prae- pre- + ven- (stem of venīre come) + -tus past participle suffix

Related formspre·vent·a·ble, pre·vent·i·ble, adjectivepre·vent·a·bil·ty, nounpre·vent·ing·ly, adverbnon·pre·vent·a·ble, adjectivenon·pre·vent·i·ble, adjectivequa·si-pre·vent·ed, adjectiveun·pre·vent·a·ble, adjectiveun·pre·vent·ed, adjectiveun·pre·vent·i·ble, adjective

Synonyms for prevent

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR prevent ON THESAURUS.COM

1. obstruct, forestall, preclude, obviate, thwart.

Synonym study

1. 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.

Antonyms for prevent

1. help, assist.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for preventable

Contemporary Examples of preventable

Infectious diseases are (a) infectious and (b) preventable with a simple shot.
D.C. Moron Phil Gingrey Spread Ebola Fever Over Immigrants
Kent Sepkowitz
July 15, 2014
Tragically, as we deliberate, another day of preventable carnage will come and go.
How Not to Blow Yourself Up on July 4th
Kent Sepkowitz
July 3, 2014
Overdose deaths have now become the leading cause of preventable death in the United States.
I Detoxed from Heroin in Jail
Tracey Mitchell
June 28, 2014
The U.S. should do no less to prevent escalation into a preventable protracted war.
Second Chance At Building A State in South Sudan
John Prendergast
January 17, 2014
The most preventable cause of death—smoking—has plummeted among Americans in recent years.
A Scarier Bird Flu: CDC Chief Warns of Looming H7N9 Threat
Eliza Shapiro
September 16, 2013

Historical Examples of preventable

Fortunately, however, this is an accident that is as preventable as it is common.
A Handbook of Health
Woods Hutchinson
The disease is preventable, and will probably be stamped out in time.
The Home Medical Library, Volume I (of VI)
Various
There is still poverty in Western Europe, but it is preventable poverty.
Progress and History
Various
Many diseases and much sickness are preventable that are not communicable.
Civics and Health
William H. Allen
Adenoids and defective vision are preventable, but not contagious.
Civics and Health
William H. Allen

British Dictionary definitions for preventable

prevent

verb

(tr) to keep from happening, esp by taking precautionary action

(tr often foll by from) to keep (someone from doing something); hinder; impede

(intr) to interpose or act as a hindrance

(tr) archaic to anticipate or precede

Derived Formspreventable or preventible, adjectivepreventability or preventibility, nounpreventably or preventibly, adverb

Word Origin for prevent

C15: from Latin praevenīre, from prae before + venīre to come

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

Word Origin and History for preventable

adj.

1630s, from prevent + -able.

prevent

early 15c., "act in anticipation of," from Latin praeventus, past participle of praevenire "come before, anticipate, hinder," in Late Latin also "to prevent," from prae "before" (see pre-) + venire "to come" (see venue). Originally literal; sense of "anticipate to hinder" was in Latin, but not recorded in English until 1540s.

prevent

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

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Origin of prevent

Synonyms for prevent

Synonym study

Antonyms for prevent

Examples from the Web for preventable

Contemporary Examples of preventable

Historical Examples of preventable

prevent

verb

Word Origin for prevent

prevent