prevent

1 of 2

verb

pre·​vent pri-ˈvent 

prevented; preventing; prevents

transitive verb

1

: to keep from happening or existing

steps to prevent war

2

: to hold or keep back : hinder, stop

—often used with from

3

: to deprive of power or hope of acting or succeeding

4

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

intransitive verb

: to interpose an obstacle

preventability

pri-ˌven-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

preventable adjective

or less commonly preventible

pri-ˈven-tə-bəl 

preventer noun

preventability

2 of 2

noun

pre·​vent·​abil·​i·​ty prēˌventəˈbilətē 

prə̇ˌ-, 

-ətē, 

-i

: the quality or state of being preventable

Synonyms of prevent

Verb

• avert
• preclude
• avoid

Choose the Right Synonym for 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

Examples of prevent in a Sentence

Verb

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 on the Web

Verb

Harvest stems weekly to encourage bushy growth and prevent the plant from getting leggy. — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 1 Sep. 2026

Efforts to prevent famine have been hampered by the January decision of the United States, once Somalia's largest donor, to freeze nearly all of the country's humanitarian aid. — Durrie Bouscaren, NPR, 31 Aug. 2026

Festivalgoers were never forced to choose between artists, as sets were separated by 10-minute breaks, preventing overlap. — Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026

Meanwhile, under the pretext of preventing fraud, the federal government has repeatedly withheld funding to Minnesota, freezing, for example, nearly two hundred million dollars of Medicaid spending for the state in July. — Emily Witt, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

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

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4c

Rhymes for prevent

• accent
• advent
• ascent
• assent
• augment
• cement
• consent
• dement
• descent
• detent
• dissent
• event

Kids Definition

prevent

verb

pre·​vent pri-ˈvent 

1

: to keep from happening

prevent accidents

2

: to hold or keep back : hinder, stop

bad weather prevented us from leaving

preventable adjective

also preventible

-ə-bəl