prophylaxis

[ proh-fuh-lak-sis, prof-uh- ]
See synonyms for prophylaxis on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Medicine/Medical.

    • the preventing of disease.

    • the prevention of a specific disease, as by studying the biological behavior, transmission, etc., of its causative agent and applying a series of measures against it.

  2. prophylactic treatment, as the cleaning of the teeth by a dentist or dental hygienist.

Origin of prophylaxis

1
1835–45; <New Latin <Greek pro-pro-2 + phýlaxis a watching, guarding, equivalent to phylak- (base of phylássein to guard) + -sis-sis

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

How to use prophylaxis in a sentence

  • They must be approached by what physicians call prophylaxis—that is, by methods of sanitation and prevention.

  • Undoubtedly the most important phase of it is in prophylaxis.

    Psychotherapy | James J. Walsh
  • prophylaxis of the habit is an ethical question that we can scarcely do justice to here.

    Psychotherapy | James J. Walsh
  • Long-named organizations exist for moral prophylaxis and for the prevention of cruelty to children and animals.

    Society | Henry Kalloch Rowe
  • But, surely, one day science will succeed in doing so; that will be chiefly through prophylaxis and rational hygiene.

British Dictionary definitions for prophylaxis

prophylaxis

/ (ˌprɒfɪˈlæksɪs) /


noun
  1. the prevention of disease or control of its possible spread

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