preventive

Also pre·vent·a·tive

[pri-ven-tiv]

adjective

1. Medicine/Medical.,  of or noting a drug, vaccine, etc., for preventing disease; prophylactic.

2. serving to prevent or hinder.

   preventive measures.

noun

1. Medicine/Medical.,  a drug or other substance for preventing disease.

2. a preventive agent or measure.

preventive

/ prɪˈvɛntɪv /

adjective

1. tending or intended to prevent or hinder

2. med

   1. tending to prevent disease; prophylactic

   2. of or relating to the branch of medicine concerned with prolonging life and preventing disease

3. (in Britain) of, relating to, or belonging to the customs and excise service or the coastguard

noun

1. something that serves to prevent or hinder

2. med any drug or agent that tends to prevent or protect against disease

3. another name for contraceptive

Other Word Forms

• preventively adverb
• preventiveness noun
• nonpreventive adjective
• nonpreventively adverb
• nonpreventiveness noun
• unpreventative adjective
• unpreventive adjective
• unpreventively adverb
• unpreventiveness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of preventive¹

First recorded in 1630–40; prevent + -ive

Example Sentences

Detecting a single case on a farm means the entire herd must be culled for preventive reasons.

Read more on BBC

These older adult workers will want—and employers will want to provide—different benefits such as elder caregiving for spouses or parents, services focused on preventive health and workplace changes that are age-friendly.

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"If we had seen these patients just two days before their heart attack, nearly half would NOT have been recommended for further testing or preventive therapy guided by current risk estimate scores and guidelines."

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He has been in preventive custody ever since, alongside Humala and Toledo.

Read more on Barron's

This early signal suggests that a blood test could eventually help identify patients who are more likely to develop neuropathy, opening the door to preventive steps -- potentially including IRE1α inhibitors -- before nerve damage sets in.

Read more on Science Daily