as in to avert
to keep from happening by taking action in advance
a lot of problems would have been prevented if we'd just prepared better
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of prevent
To prevent yet another Rwandan invasion, a peace process will need to get each country in the region invested in their neighbors’ stability.
—
Joshua Z. Walker, Foreign Affairs, 17 June 2025
Trump's travel restrictions are already preventing some scientists from being able to travel to the U.S. for conferences.
—Jonathan Lambert, NPR, 17 June 2025
Even after that, Microsoft refused to take full responsibility and hasn’t done enough to prevent future attacks.
—Jovante Teague, Sun Sentinel, 17 June 2025
Nations begin to covet their AI and set up barriers to prevent other nations from stealing or copying the early AGI systems.
Year 2037: Advances in AI showcase human-like situational adaptability and innovation.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for prevent
Joshua Z. Walker, Foreign Affairs, 17 June 2025
Trump's travel restrictions are already preventing some scientists from being able to travel to the U.S. for conferences.
—Jonathan Lambert, NPR, 17 June 2025
Even after that, Microsoft refused to take full responsibility and hasn’t done enough to prevent future attacks.
—Jovante Teague, Sun Sentinel, 17 June 2025
Nations begin to covet their AI and set up barriers to prevent other nations from stealing or copying the early AGI systems.
Year 2037: Advances in AI showcase human-like situational adaptability and innovation.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for prevent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prevent
Verb
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Pakistan has announced its nomination of President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, crediting him with averting a major conflict in South Asia at a time when the U.S. leader is contemplating intervention in the Middle East.—
Tom O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 June 2025
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The day pass announcement comes after state lawmakers last month failed to pass transit reform legislation — or find funding to avert a looming $771 million fiscal cliff — during their spring legislative session.—
Talia Soglin,
Chicago Tribune,
20 June 2025
Verb
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Arab states also had to account for the growing anger among the Arab public about the treatment of the people of Gaza, which precluded any further tightening of Arab-Israeli security cooperation.—
Vali Nasr,
Foreign Affairs,
10 June 2025
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His work expanded the possibilities of architecture, proving that function doesn’t preclude fantasy.—
Maya Chawla,
Architectural Digest,
6 June 2025
Verb
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The movie also acknowledges that there is a climate crisis, but tries to avoid having viewers frozen with fear.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
18 June 2025
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But Augustin pleaded guilty to second-degree assault as a hate crime, avoiding even more prison time if he had been convicted by a Queens jury on the manslaughter charge.—
Sheetal Banchariya,
New York Daily News,
18 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Prevent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prevent. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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