prevent
Americanverb (used with object)
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to keep from occurring; avert; hinder.
He intervened to prevent bloodshed.
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to hinder or stop from doing something.
There is nothing to prevent us from going.
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Archaic. to act ahead of; forestall.
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Archaic. to precede.
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Archaic. to anticipate.
verb (used without object)
verb
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(tr) to keep from happening, esp by taking precautionary action
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to keep (someone from doing something); hinder; impede
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(intr) to interpose or act as a hindrance
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archaic (tr) to anticipate or precede
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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preventabilitynoun
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preventabiltynoun
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nonpreventableadjective
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nonpreventibleadjective
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preventableadjective
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preventibleadjective
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quasi-preventedadjective
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unpreventableadjective
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unpreventedadjective
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unpreventibleadjective
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preventablyadverb
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preventinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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preventsimple
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preventssimple
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have preventedperfect
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has preventedperfect
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am preventingprogressive
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are preventingprogressive
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is preventingprogressive
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have been preventingperfect progressive
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has been preventingperfect progressive
Past
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preventedsimple
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had preventedperfect
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was preventingprogressive
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were preventingprogressive
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had been preventingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of prevent
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin praeventus “anticipated,” past participle of praevenīre “to anticipate,” equivalent to prae- pre- ( def. ) + venīre “to come”
Explanation
The verb prevent means "to keep something from happening," like when you use a complicated password to prevent hackers from accessing your account. Prevent comes from the Latin word praeventus, meaning "to act in anticipation of," like when you shovel the icy, snow-covered sidewalk to prevent people from falling. Prevent can also mean "to make impossible," like when a school locks the doors during a dance to prevent kids from leaving without their parents knowing.
Vocabulary lists containing prevent
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“We commend their heroic actions, which we believe helped drive the suspect away from the scene and prevent further casualties,” the department wrote in a statement on Facebook.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
These might sound like extreme measures just to prevent a common nuisance.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
But Mr. Trump also recognizes the need to prevent AI from being weaponized against the homeland.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
Treatments aimed at this pathway could potentially slow or prevent the progression of ALS, Huntington's disease, and other brain disorders associated with aging.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026
Coal took one of Door’s big flannel shirts to switch up what he was wearing and prevent immediate identification.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
It also prevents sides from manipulating the cap.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
This prevents migrants lacking legal status from automatically traveling on to Europe and their asylum claims are assessed in Ceuta itself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
This prevents the carbon from leaving the reactor as atmospheric carbon dioxide.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026
Google's statement said the company prevents "image creation on harmful topics" and its AI policy instructs users against "misinformation, misrepresentation or misleading activities."
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
Other scientists are working on the so-called “juvenile hormone,” a powerful substance which prevents metamorphosis of the larval insect until the proper stage of growth has been reached.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
It also alleges Amazon maintained policies that effectively prevented drivers from moving between delivery contractors, limiting competition for labor and keeping wages below competitive levels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Reforms introduced in 2023 prevented the legislature from expanding indefinitely, but they also removed the guarantee that every local winner would enter parliament.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 2, 2026
She lipped out for birdie on the sixth and seventh before a lengthy par save on the 15th prevented back-to-back bogeys.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
In the 2010s, the company settled two separate class-action lawsuits with former employees, for a total of more than $45 million, who alleged they’d been prevented from benefiting fully from the ESOP.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Something prevented them from taking a single step that was not in a specific direction.
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
It is not just the mosquito experts who have a role to play in preventing mosquito-borne disease outbreaks as the climate warms and the insects spread across more of the U.S.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
The agencies said hackers changed passwords and network settings on affected systems, preventing operators from monitoring or controlling equipment in some cases.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
“It’s preventing me from growing what I used to grow,” Lee said as she stood beside a bare-dirt field.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
In addition lifeguards spend a large amount of time preventing people getting into trouble in the first place.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
She hated this man with the scar on his mouth, this man who was preventing her from doing what she had vowed to do.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
