prevent

verb

pre·​vent pri-ˈvent 

prevented; preventing; prevents

transitive verb

1

: to keep from happening or existing

steps to prevent war

2

: to hold or keep back : hinder, stop

—often used with from

3

: to deprive of power or hope of acting or succeeding

4

archaic

a

: to be in readiness for (something, such as an occasion)

b

: to meet or satisfy in advance

c

: to act ahead of

d

: to go or arrive before

intransitive verb

: to interpose an obstacle

preventability

pri-ˌven-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

preventable adjective

or less commonly preventible

pri-ˈven-tə-bəl 

preventer noun

Synonyms

• avert
• forestall
• head off
• help
• obviate
• preclude
• stave off

Choose the Right Synonym for prevent

prevent, anticipate, forestall mean to deal with beforehand.

prevent implies taking advance measures against something possible or probable.

measures taken to prevent leaks

anticipate may imply merely getting ahead of another by being a precursor or forerunner or it may imply checking another's intention by acting first.

anticipated the question by making a statement

forestall implies a getting ahead so as to stop or interrupt something in its course.

hoped to forestall the sale

Examples of prevent in a Sentence

Seatbelts in cars often prevent serious injuries.

Can exercise and a healthy diet prevent heart disease?

The accident could have been prevented.

He grabbed my arm to prevent me from falling.

Bad weather prevented us from leaving.

How are you going to prevent him from finding out about the party?

Recent Examples on the Web

Many survivors like me find peace more with animal families and have purposely chosen not to procreate to prevent passing on mental illness, addiction, etc. —Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2024

Trans athlete rules still in limbo The Biden administration is also separately aiming to curtail schools’ abilities to prevent transgender athletes from competing in sports. —Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY, 19 Apr. 2024

Prospective jurors have been grilled on their social media posts, personal lives and political views as the lawyers and judge search for any bias that would prevent them from being impartial. —Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 19 Apr. 2024

Making work work for students There are a variety of barriers in addition to housing costs that prevent first-generation students and other learners from disadvantaged backgrounds from participating in high-quality internships. —Byjane Swift, Fortune, 19 Apr. 2024

The agency said Thursday that new procedures have been implemented to prevent contraband. —Katie Moore, Kansas City Star, 19 Apr. 2024

Prospective jurors have been grilled on their social media posts, personal lives and political views as the lawyers and judge search for biases that would prevent them from being impartial. —TIME, 18 Apr. 2024

There’s also little preventing current neurotechnology companies from misusing or selling that data to the highest bidder. —Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 18 Apr. 2024

Baking soda and baking powder add lift to your cookies and prevent them from spreading out. —Robin Miller, The Arizona Republic, 18 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, to anticipate, from Latin praeventus, past participle of praevenire to come before, anticipate, forestall, from prae- + venire to come — more at come

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4c

Kids Definition

prevent

verb

pre·​vent pri-ˈvent 

1

: to keep from happening

prevent accidents

2

: to hold or keep back : hinder, stop

bad weather prevented us from leaving

preventable adjective

also preventible

-ə-bəl