as in preventive
concerned with or serving to keep something from happening
the department in charge of taking preventative measures against international terrorism
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as in insurance
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of preventative
Heidi Moawad, Verywell Health, 22 Dec. 2025
The outage occurred Monday morning while the city was performing preventative maintenance at the water plant.
—Kansas City Star, 16 Dec. 2025
Rachel Wegner, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
This essential mental refreshment is a powerful preventative against burnout and directly injects new vitality into your creative process.
—Kice Akkawi, Rolling Stone, 16 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for preventative
Adjective
It is sometimes recommended as a preventative supplement or as part of the diet for women who have recurrent UTIs.
—Heidi Moawad, Verywell Health, 22 Dec. 2025
The outage occurred Monday morning while the city was performing preventative maintenance at the water plant.
—Kansas City Star, 16 Dec. 2025
Noun
Evans called those measures reactive instead of preventative.
—Rachel Wegner, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
This essential mental refreshment is a powerful preventative against burnout and directly injects new vitality into your creative process.
—Kice Akkawi, Rolling Stone, 16 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for preventative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for preventative
Adjective
-
Despite over a century of investigation, there is still no cure, but advances in diagnostic tools, treatments and preventive strategies continue to offer hope for slowing the disease and improving quality of life for patients and caregivers.—
The San Diego Union Tribune,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Nov. 2025
-
For children, Arizona consistently ranks below the national average for preventive dental visits.—
Sixteen Ramos,
AZCentral.com,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Thomas will continue to represent clients as a partner in the firm's national insurance regulatory practice.—
Sydney Sasser,
Arkansas Online,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Check your insurance formulary and ask your doctor to prescribe medicine your plan will cover.—
Zach Dyer,
Miami Herald,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Many others show clear signs of precautions against the danger involved in missile production – buildings are surrounded by tall dirt and concrete berms, a safety measure against the risk of explosions.—
Tamara Qiblawi,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
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The Department of Transportation is implementing the cuts as a precaution due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, which has required air traffic controllers to work without pay for more than a month.—
Karissa Waddick,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Preventative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/preventative. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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