prevent

prevent
verb 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 Date: 15th century transitive verb 1. archaic a. to be in readiness for (as an occasion) b. to meet or satisfy in advance c. to act ahead of d. to go or arrive before 2. to deprive of power or hope of acting or succeeding 3. to keep from happening or existing <
steps to prevent war
>
4. to hold or keep back ; hinder, stop — often used with from intransitive verb to interpose an obstacle • preventability nounpreventable also preventible adjectivepreventer noun Synonyms: 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
>
.

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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  • prevent — 1 Prevent, anticipate, forestall can mean to be or get ahead of or to deal with beforehand, with reference especially to a thing s due time or to its actual occurrence or to the action of another. Prevent implies frustration (as of an intention… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • prevent — When prevent is followed by an object + verbal noun, the usual construction now is (for example) prevent him going or prevent him from going, rather than prevent his going, which (though considered formally more correct by some) is falling out of …   Modern English usage

  • PReVENT — is a European automotive industry activity co funded by the European Commission to contribute to road safety by developing and demonstrating preventive safety applications and technologies. Preventive and active safety applications help drivers… …   Wikipedia

  • Prevent — Pre*vent , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Prevented}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Preventing}.] [L. praevenire, praeventum; prae before + venire to come. See {Come}.] 1. To go before; to precede; hence, to go before as a guide; to direct. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] We… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • prevent — I verb arrest, avert, avoid, baffle, balk, bar, block, check, checkmate, circumvent, contest, counter, counteract, countercheck, cut off, debar, defeat, deflect, delay, detain, deter, discourage, estop, fend off, foil, forbid, foreclose,… …   Law dictionary

  • prevent — pre‧vent [prɪˈvent] verb [transitive] to stop something happening, or someone doing something: • government regulators working to prevent fraud prevent somebody/​something (from) doing something • The region s huge economic problems will prevent… …   Financial and business terms

  • prevent — [prē vent′, privent′] vt. [ME preventen < L praeventus, pp. of praevenire, to anticipate < prae , before (see PRE ) + venire, to COME] 1. Obs. a) to act in anticipation of (an event or a fixed time) b) to anticipate (a need, objection,… …   English World dictionary

  • Prevent — Pre*vent , v. i. To come before the usual time. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Strawberries . . . will prevent and come early. Bacon. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • prevent — (v.) early 15c., to act in anticipation of, from L. praeventus, pp. of praevenire come before, anticipate, hinder, in L.L. also to prevent, from prae before (see PRE (Cf. pre )) + venire to come (see VENUE (Cf. venue)). Originally literal; sense… …   Etymology dictionary

  • prevent — [v] keep from happening or continuing anticipate, arrest, avert, avoid, baffle, balk, bar, block, check, chill*, cool, cork, counter, counteract, dam, debar, defend against, foil, forbid, forestall, forfend, frustrate, halt, hamper, head off,… …   New thesaurus

  • prevent — ► VERB 1) keep from happening or arising. 2) stop (someone) from doing something. ● prevention is better than cure Cf. ↑prevention is better than cure DERIVATIVES preventable adjective prevention …   English terms dictionary

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