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

Example Sentences

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

From 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.

From The Wall Street Journal

"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."

From Science Daily

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

From 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.

From Science Daily