prevention

[ pri-ven-shuhn ]
See synonyms for prevention on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the act of preventing; effectual hindrance.

  2. a preventive: This serum is a prevention against disease.

Origin of prevention

1
1520–30; <Late Latin praeventiōn- (stem of praeventiō) a forestalling. See prevent, -ion

Other words from prevention

  • non·pre·ven·tion, noun

Words Nearby prevention

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use prevention in a sentence

  • The prevention of this evil, therefore, was an object which a reformed house of commons was especially bound to secure.

  • Hence the only safe, as well as the only advantageous way out of this confusion is to go forward on the Principle of prevention.

  • The important practical question is the prevention of the fulfilment of the morbid impulse during these impressionable years.

  • prevention consists in cutting the roots; not feeding them when the animals are very hungry, and not disturbing them while eating.

    Domestic Animals | Richard L. Allen
  • Thus was the metropolis happily preserved; but the bloody part of the intended tragedy was past prevention.

British Dictionary definitions for prevention

prevention

/ (prɪˈvɛnʃən) /


noun
  1. the act of preventing

  2. a hindrance, obstacle, or impediment

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012