preventive

adjective

pre·ven·tive | \ pri-ˈven-tiv

Definition of preventive

(Entry 1 of 2)

: devoted to or concerned with prevention : precautionary preventive steps against soil erosion : such as

a : designed or serving to prevent the occurrence of disease preventive medical care

b : undertaken to forestall anticipated hostile action a preventive coup

preventive

noun

Definition of preventive (Entry 2 of 2)

: something that prevents especially : something used to prevent disease

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Examples of preventive in a Sentence

Adjective

Farmers are covering their crops as a preventive measure against frost. We'll take whatever preventive action is necessary.

Noun

if people took the simple preventive of frequently washing their hands, the spread of germs could be greatly reduced

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

America is never a nation to roll over and die, so physicians and scientists got to work researching causes and preventive measures. — Jamie Lauren Keiles, Vox, "How low-fat dairy came to rule the US — and why that’s changing.," 20 Dec. 2018 Once experts predict a potential outbreak, who funds the necessary preventive and containment measures? — Mallory Locklear, Discover Magazine, "With Big Data and Predictive Analytics, Scientists Are Getting Smarter About Outbreaks," 8 Nov. 2018 While researching the idea, the team found preventive materials on teen pregnancy, but little support for already pregnant students. — Mohammed Kloub, The Seattle Times, "The most interesting education solutions from Seattle’s Startup Weekend EDU 2018," 9 Oct. 2018 Williams added that the department conducts preventive baiting, and began a pilot program to place dry ice into rodent burrows in parks or other green spaces to suffocate rats. — Travis Fedschun, Fox News, "Chicago named 'rat capital' of the country amid rodent complaint spike," 22 July 2018 Have medications for your allergies (and asthma, if necessary) ready to go in case any of these preventive measures don’t work. — Colleen Stinchcombe, SELF, "13 Ways to Triumph Over Fall Allergies," 13 Nov. 2018 When asked about the plan for more housing, Mr. de Blasio has said that his administration is focused on preventive measures, including legal assistance for evictions, and rental vouchers. — Katie Honan, WSJ, "Homeless Advocates Get Sitdown With Housing Officials," 15 Oct. 2018 Just four months ago, the two regimes had egged each other on to the point that a range of voices in Washington were musing about launching a preventive war – and observers feared that momentum couldn’t be stopped. — Heather Hurlburt, Daily Intelligencer, "The Winners and Losers of President Trump’s Meeting With Kim Jong-un," 12 June 2018 Bolton, like McMaster, sees Kim Jong Un as fundamentally irrational and undeterrable - a view that seems to justify launching a preventive war if the North Korea refuses to denuclearize. — chicagotribune.com, "John Bolton is a national security threat," 23 Mar. 2018

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