prevent

verb pre·vent \ pri-ˈvent \

Definition of prevent

transitive verb

1 archaic

a :to be in readiness for (something, such as an occasion)

b :to meet or satisfy in advance

c :to act ahead of

d :to go or arrive before

2 :to deprive of power or hope of acting or succeeding

3 :to keep from happening or existing

steps to prevent war

4 :to hold or keep back :hinder, stop —often used with from

intransitive verb

:to interpose an obstacle

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preventability

play \-ˌven-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē\ noun

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preventable

or less commonly preventible play \-ˈven-tə-bəl\ adjective

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preventer

noun

See prevent defined for English-language learners

See prevent defined for kids

Examples of prevent in a Sentence

Seatbelts in cars often prevent serious injuries.
Can exercise and a healthy diet prevent heart disease?
The accident could have been prevented.
He grabbed my arm to prevent me from falling.
Bad weather prevented us from leaving.
How are you going to prevent him from finding out about the party?

Recent Examples of prevent from the Web

No employer shall make, adopt, or enforce any rule, regulation, or policy: (a) Forbidding or preventing employees from engaging or participating in politics or from becoming candidates for public office.

— jack greiner, Cincinnati.com, "Greiner: “OK, Google, search free speech at work.”," 30 Aug. 2017
For police departments to prevent and solve crimes, all officers need to work routinely in partnership with residents to find solutions to problems.

— jsonline.com, "Trust damaged between Milwaukee police and community, Department of Justice draft report says," 30 Aug. 2017
The crucial questions are how to pay for a lower rate and how to prevent abuses.

— patricia cohen, New York Times, "Trump Tax Plan May Free Up Corporate Dollars, but Then What?," 29 Aug. 2017
Steroids, which are potent anti-inflammatory drugs, also didn’t prevent heart attacks or strokes in people taking them for other reasons, several studies showed.

— jennifer couzin-frankel, Science | AAAS, "Anti-inflammatory cuts risk of heart attack," 27 Aug. 2017
By evolving the ability to make this chemical, which prevents the munchies in insects, perhaps some fungi triumphed over their competitors, and dominated the delicious worlds of dung and rotting wood.

— ed yong, The Atlantic, "How Mushrooms Became Magic," 24 Aug. 2017
The new rule prevents voters in one party's primary from crossing over to vote in the other party's runoff.

— leada gore, AL.com, "Can Luther Strange beat Roy Moore? Can Democrat Doug Jones? What the numbers show," 23 Aug. 2017
Police said on Friday that the incident, which appeared to have been an accident, may have prevented a worse attack.

— tina nguyen, The Hive, "Massive Manhunt Underway After Barcelona Attacks Kill 13," 18 Aug. 2017
In a 2-1 ruling, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel vacated the previous preliminary injunctions from a federal judge that prevented the state from suspending Medicaid payments for services patients received from Planned Parenthood.

— veronica hilbring, Essence.com, "U.S. Appeals Court: Arkansas Can Block Medicaid Funding To Planned Parenthood," 17 Aug. 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of prevent

Middle English, to anticipate, from Latin praeventus, past participle of praevenire to come before, anticipate, forestall, from prae- + venire to come — more at come

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

prevent Synonyms

Synonyms

avert, forestall, head off, help, obviate, preclude, stave off

Related Words

anticipate, provide; negate, neutralize, nullify; save; baffle, balk, checkmate, deter, foil, frustrate, thwart; bar, block, hamper, hinder, impede, interfere (with), retard, stall; deflect, fend (off), stop, ward (off); avoid, circumvent, dodge, duck, elude, escape, eschew, evade, shake, shirk, shun; forbid, inhibit, prohibit; arrest, check, halt, stop; compensate (for), counteract, counterbalance, make up (for), offset

Near Antonyms

abet, aid, assist; ease, facilitate, smooth, unclog; advance, cultivate, encourage, forward, foster, further, nurture, promote; allow, leave, let, permit

Synonym Discussion of prevent

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

PREVENT Defined for English Language Learners

prevent

verb

Definition of prevent for English Language Learners

: to stop (something) from happening or existing
: to make (someone or something) not do something : to stop (someone or something) from doing something