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pre·vent (pr -v nt )v. pre·vent·ed, pre·vent·ing, pre·vents v.tr.1. To keep from happening: took steps to prevent the strike. 2. To keep (someone) from doing something; impede: prevented us from winning. 3. Archaic To anticipate or counter in advance. 4. Archaic To come before; precede. v.intr. To present an obstacle: There will be a picnic if nothing prevents.
[Middle English preventen, to anticipate, from Latin praeven re, praevent- : prae-, pre- + ven re, to come; see gw - in Indo-European roots.]
pre·vent a·ble, pre·vent i·ble adj. pre·vent er n. Synonyms: prevent, preclude, avert, obviate, forestall These verbs mean to stop or hinder something from happening, especially by advance planning or action. Prevent implies anticipatory counteraction: "The surest way to prevent war is not to fear it" (John Randolph). To preclude is to exclude the possibility of an event or action: "a tranquillity which . . . his wife's presence would have precluded" (John Henry Newman). To avert is to ward off something about to happen: The pilot's quick thinking averted an accident. Obviate implies that something, such as a difficulty, has been anticipated and disposed of effectively: "the objections . . . having . . . been obviated in the preceding chapter" (Joseph Butler). Forestall usually suggests anticipatory measures taken to counteract, neutralize, or nullify the effects of something: We installed an alarm system to forestall break-ins. |
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms | Adj. | 1. | preventable - capable of being prevented; "conscious of preventable human suffering"- A.L.Guerard |
Translations preventable [prɪˈventəbl] ADJ → evitable preventable [prɪˈvɛntəbəl] adj → évitable
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