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Prevent Very Common

Origin: Latin prefix pre-

Prevent has 3 different meanings across 1 category:

Verb

Definitions
Verb
1

keep from happening or arising; make impossible

"My sense of tact forbids an honest answer"

"Your role in the projects precludes your involvement in the competitive project"

2

stop (someone or something) from doing something or being in a certain state

"We must prevent the cancer from spreading"

"His snoring kept me from falling asleep"

"Keep the child from eating the marbles"

3

To stop (an outcome); to keep from (doing something).

"The heavy rainstorm prevented us from going on our planned hike, forcing us to stay inside instead."

In plain English: To prevent something means to stop it from happening before it starts.

"Wearing a helmet will prevent you from getting hurt in an accident."

Usage: Use prevent to describe stopping an event or outcome from happening in the first place. It implies taking action beforehand to ensure a specific result does not occur.

Example Sentences
"Wearing a helmet will prevent you from getting hurt in an accident." verb
"The umbrella helped prevent me from getting wet in the rain." verb
"She took vitamins to prevent any future health problems." verb
"Please close the window to prevent drafts from coming in." verb
Related Terms
stop thwart bereave preventingly preventing holding action anticaking reblock mara reprove antidepressant able cryosequester back up deter antioxidant weatherbound suppress batting glove bog
Antonyms
allow
Narrower Terms (hyponyms)
inhibit save debar obstruct thwart stop defend exclude restrict hold keep away restrain blank impede rain out

Origin

The word "prevent" comes from the Latin phrase meaning "to come before," which originally described anticipating an event. It entered English in Middle English with this same sense of taking action ahead of time to stop something from happening.

Rhyming Words
ent bent ment went sent vent pent hent cent fent dent tent kent gent rent lent djent ament seent brent
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