preventive

[ pri-ven-tiv ]
See synonyms for: preventivepreventives on Thesaurus.com

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.

Origin of preventive

1
First recorded in 1630–40; prevent + -ive
  • Also pre·vent·a·tive [pri-ven-tuh-tiv] /prɪˈvɛn tə tɪv/ (for defs. 2, 4).

Other words from preventive

  • pre·ven·tive·ly, adverb
  • pre·ven·tive·ness, noun
  • non·pre·ven·tive, adjective
  • non·pre·ven·tive·ly, adverb
  • non·pre·ven·tive·ness, noun
  • un·pre·vent·a·tive, adjective
  • un·pre·ven·tive, adjective
  • un·pre·ven·tive·ly, adverb
  • un·pre·ven·tive·ness, noun

Words Nearby preventive

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use preventive in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for preventive

preventive

/ (prɪˈvɛntɪv) /


adjective
  1. tending or intended to prevent or hinder

  2. med

    • tending to prevent disease; prophylactic

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

  1. (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

  1. another name for contraceptive

  • Also (except for sense 3): preventative (prɪˈvɛntətɪv)

Derived forms of preventive

  • preventively, adverb
  • preventiveness, noun

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