prevent

pre·vent

The teacher positioned the desks far apart for the test in order to prevent cheating.

verb

Prevent is defined as to stop something from happening.

An example of prevent is to seat students a couple of desks away from one another to stop them from copying each other's responses on an exam.

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"prevent." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/prevent>.

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prevent. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/prevent

prevent

Obs.
1. to act in anticipation of (an event or a fixed time)
2. to anticipate (a need, objection, etc.)
3. to precede
to stop or keep (from doing something)
to keep from happening; make impossible by prior action; hinder

Origin of prevent

Middle English preventen from Classical Latin praeventus, past participle of praevenire, to anticipate from prae-, before (see pre-) + venire, to come

to interpose an obstacle

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"prevent." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/prevent>.

APA Style

prevent. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/prevent

prevent

verb

pre·vent·ed, pre·vent·ing, pre·vents

verb

transitive

To keep from happening; avert: took steps to prevent the strike.
To keep (a person or thing) from doing something; impede: prevented us from winning; prevented the disease from spreading.
Archaic
a. To anticipate or counter in advance.
b. To come before; precede.

verb

intransitive

To present an obstacle: There will be a picnic if nothing prevents.

Origin of prevent

Middle English preventen to anticipate from Latin praevenīre praevent- prae- pre- venīre to come ; see g^wā- in Indo-European roots.

Related Forms:

pre·vent′a·bil′i·ty pre·vent′i·bil′i·ty
noun

pre·vent′a·ble pre·vent′i·ble
adjective

pre·vent′er
noun

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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MLA Style

"prevent." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/prevent>.

APA Style

prevent. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/prevent

prevent

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.

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"prevent." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 20 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/prevent>.

APA Style

prevent. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/prevent

Verb

(third-person singular simple present prevents, present participle preventing, simple past and past participle prevented)

To stop; to keep (from happening). [from 16th c.]
I brushed my teeth to prevent them from going yellow.
(intransitive, now rare) To take preventative measures. [from 16th c.]
Book of Common Prayer
We pray thee that thy grace may always prevent and follow us.
Prior
Then had I come, preventing Sheba's queen.

Origin

From Middle English preventen (“anticipate"), from Latin praeventus, perfect passive participle of praeveniÅ (“anticipate"), from prae (“before") + veniÅ (“come").

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.