as in preventative
concerned with or serving to keep something from happening
if you start taking this preventive medicine now, you may not get sick after all
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in precaution
a measure taken to preclude loss or injury
if people took the simple preventive of frequently washing their hands, the spread of germs could be greatly reduced
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Recent Examples of preventive
Alice Park, Time, 21 July 2025
People who live in areas where plague has been found should take preventive measures, and clinicians should ask about travel history to these areas.
—Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 18 July 2025
Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 21 July 2022
When given as a preventive, it is meant as a two-dose vaccine given four weeks apart, which research suggests can reduce the risk of infection by about 85%.
—Benjamin Ryan, NBC News, 14 July 2022
See All Example Sentences for preventive
Adjective
In 2019, Walton founded the Heartland Whole Health Institute, located steps from the new medical school, which focuses on research, health advocacy, and education about the policies and financial systems necessary to advance preventive care.
—Alice Park, Time, 21 July 2025
People who live in areas where plague has been found should take preventive measures, and clinicians should ask about travel history to these areas.
—Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 18 July 2025
Noun
And yet little is being done in response to the danger, let alone as a preventive to keep the situation from going further off the rails.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 21 July 2022
When given as a preventive, it is meant as a two-dose vaccine given four weeks apart, which research suggests can reduce the risk of infection by about 85%.
—Benjamin Ryan, NBC News, 14 July 2022
See All Example Sentences for preventive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for preventive
precaution
Noun
-
As a precaution, the National Weather Service is advising people in sensitive groups — including children, older adults and people with lung or heart conditions like asthma — to avoid being outside.—
Jack Albright,
jsonline.com,
5 Aug. 2025
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Those with heart or lung conditions, children, and older adults were urged to take extra precautions.—
Hannah Parry
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Preventive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/preventive. Accessed 10 Aug. 2025.
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