forestall

verb

fore·stall | \ fȯr-ˈstȯl

forestalled; forestalling; forestalls

Definition of forestall

1 : to prevent the normal trading in by buying or diverting goods or by persuading persons to raise prices forestalling the wheat harvest and selling it at three times its cost— G. B. Shaw

2 archaic : intercept

3 obsolete : obstruct, beset

4 : to exclude, hinder, or prevent by prior occupation or measures Negotiations failed to forestall the conflict.

5 : to get ahead of : anticipate detailed explanations intended to forestall questions

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Choose the Right Synonym for forestall

prevent, anticipate, forestall mean to deal with beforehand. prevent implies taking advance measures against something possible or probable. measures taken to prevent leaks anticipate may imply merely getting ahead of another by being a precursor or forerunner or it may imply checking another's intention by acting first. anticipated the question by making a statement forestall implies a getting ahead so as to stop or interrupt something in its course. hoped to forestall the sale

Examples of forestall in a Sentence

Negotiations failed to forestall the conflict. His comments were meant to forestall criticism of his proposal. He forestalled critics by offering a defense of the project.

Recent Examples on the Web

For weeks, the United States and China had appeared close to a deal that would have forestalled tariffs. — New York Times, "Trump’s Trade War Spooks Markets as White House Waits for China to Blink," 19 June 2018 On the one hand, this forestalls a costlier decision — what to do with the trash when the landfill does fill up. — David Gutman, The Seattle Times, "King County’s landfill has been almost full for two decades. What happens next?," 26 Mar. 2019 Is Google trying to forestall this kind of regulation? — Alex Kingsbury, BostonGlobe.com, "How do you regulate a tech company?," 14 June 2018 But his advisers are deeply divided over the best course and some, like Mnuchin, have focused on a potential compromise deal that would require China to buy huge amounts of American products while still forestalling the possibility of a trade war. — Ana Swanson, BostonGlobe.com, "Trump moves ahead with tough trade measures on China," 29 May 2018 Now let’s pause here to forestall a couple of possible objections. — David Roberts, Vox, "Clean energy technologies threaten to overwhelm the grid. Here’s how it can adapt.," 30 Nov. 2018 Last December Mrs May agreed that Northern Ireland would retain regulatory and customs alignment with the EU unless another way could be found to forestall a hard border with Ireland. — The Economist, "The EU digests Britain’s new Brexit plan," 11 July 2018 That forced Ryan and GOP leaders to convene negotiations aimed at writing a consensus Republican bill that could pass the House in order to forestall passage of more liberal bipartisan bills that would pass with mostly Democratic votes. — Mike Debonis, Washington Post, "Ryan and Meadows clash on House floor, leaving immigration bills on thin ice," 20 June 2018 None of these deficiencies were enough to forestall the Navy's order, though. — Eric Tegler, Popular Mechanics, "Why the F/A-18 Is Such a Badass Plane," 29 Dec. 2016

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'forestall.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.