Synonyms of preventing

preventing

verb

present participle of prevent

as in averting

to keep from happening by taking action in advance

a lot of problems would have been prevented if we'd just prepared better

Synonyms & Similar Words

• averting
• precluding
• avoiding
• forestalling
• helping
• obviating
• escaping
• providing
• anticipating
• deterring
• heading off
• saving
• thwarting
• neutralizing
• impeding
• hindering
• nullifying
• evading
• hampering
• prohibiting
• staving off
• retarding
• shaking
• deflecting
• blocking
• stopping
• negating
• forbidding
• eluding
• stalling
• counteracting
• inhibiting
• offsetting
• circumventing
• interfering (with)
• shunning
• eschewing
• barring
• frustrating
• counterbalancing
• halting
• foiling
• dodging
• baffling
• balking
• checking
• checkmating
• arresting
• fending (off)
• warding (off)
• ducking
• shirking
• compensating (for)
• making up (for)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• assisting
• aiding
• facilitating
• abetting
• promoting
• easing
• advancing
• smoothing
• encouraging
• fostering
• furthering
• leaving
• cultivating
• permitting
• forwarding
• letting
• allowing
• nurturing
• unclogging

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of preventing

After launching the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Russia managed to occupy all of the Ukrainian land that surrounds the Sea of Azov, preventing Kyiv from accessing it. — Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 15 July 2026

Events unfold over the course of one evening as a hurricane rolls in, blocking outside communication and preventing reinforcements from arriving. — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 14 July 2026

And the stakes are as high as preventing one of our most effective technologies for holding and engaging with human intelligence from being shelved as a topic of the past. — Jen Benka, Time, 14 July 2026

This blocks defects and halts ion migration, preventing the material from separating over time. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 14 July 2026

For a long time, large numbers of Americans couldn’t pass the federal government’s literacy test—especially in the South, where preventing Black literacy was a pillar of white-supremacist government. — Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026

The professor was horrified by what appeared to be massive cheating in his course—cheating that was preventing most of the students from learning the material. — Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 8 July 2026

The complaint seeks damages, profits from the allegedly infringing work, and an injunction preventing Hatchet from being sold or exhibited, while also requesting that the painting either be turned over to Reemtsen or destroyed. — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 8 July 2026

The program includes more than $1 billion for states and local and tribal governments for a variety of programs aimed at preventing terror at crowded places, online, with border security — and around elections. — ABC News, 8 July 2026