preventive

American  

[pri-ven-tiv] / prɪˈvɛn tɪv /

Also preventative

adjective

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

2. serving to prevent or hinder.

   preventive measures.

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noun

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

2. a preventive agent or measure.

preventive British  

/ 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

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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

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

Etymology

Origin of preventive

First recorded in 1630–40; prevent + -ive

Explanation

Anything preventive hinders or stops something, especially diseases. When you prevent something, you stop it from happening. Likewise, anything preventive is used to ward off a bad outcome. Wearing a warm coat is preventative: it keeps you from getting cold. Saving your money is preventive because it will keep you from the poorhouse if you lose your job. Most often, this word is used in medicine. Preventive (or preventative) measures keep you from getting sick. Stretching before a workout is preventive, because it can keep you injury-free.

Example Sentences

"It is a lot about preventive medicine just now because there are limited medical supplies in space but with commercial flights, there could be a higher medical risk."

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026

To avoid surprises, the Mevorahs invest roughly $2,500 annually in preventive maintenance for their Vermont slate roof.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026

Khan, who was not involved in the study, is also Magerstadt Professor of Cardiovascular Epidemiology and an associate professor of cardiology and preventive medicine at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

From Science Daily • Mar. 19, 2026

Martha Gulati is a preventive cardiologist and the inaugural director of the Davis Women’s Heart Center at the Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 19, 2026

Well, the guy evidently hadn’t been getting the three-times-yearly preventive cleaning and lubricating, which made all the difference.

From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick