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🛒 To buy up goods ⛔ To prevent early
to forstall

to forstall

8.1
To act before something happens to stop it
  • verb
  • /fɔrˈstɔl/
  • UK
translation icon : prevenir
  • Quick action by the firefighters helped forstall a major disaster.

Examples

  • She tried to forstall criticism by explaining her decision early.

  • The company took steps to forstall any potential problems with the new product.

  • Don't forstall!

  • We must forstall any potential issues before they arise.

  • The management team acted quickly to forstall any disruptions during the transition period.

  • The government implemented new regulations to forstall further environmental damage.

  • To forstall any delays, the organizers planned the event well in advance.

Synonyms

to stave off
vsto forstall
30 6.4

To stop something bad from happening for a while

prevents it by earlier action instead of only postponing it
to preempt
vsto forstall
  • US
26 6.8

Act before others to stop something or take control of a situation

acts early to prevent things without emphasizing acting before others
to head off
vsto forstall
23 4.8

Stop something from happening by acting early

expresses prevention by acting early without stressing direct interception
to forestall
vsto forstall
17 7.1

Act early to stop a problem from happening

is the same meaning but is spelled differently

Antonyms

to allow
∞ 1.0

To let something happen or let someone do something

to facilitate
  • Formal
187 4.9

To make a task or process easier and help it happen

How Preventive

to prevent
∞ 2.3
to forstall
  • UK
8.1
to intervene
197 5.0
to warn
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

forstall infinitive
forstalled past
forstalled past participle
forstalling present participle
forstalls third person singular

Morphology

forstall = stall (transparent) = fore + stall

The sense 'to prevent by acting in advance' follows directly from 'fore-' (before) + the notion of acting/standing in front, so learners can infer the meaning from the parts.

Etymology

Forstall comes from old parts for- meaning 'before' and stall meaning 'to stop'. So to forstall a problem is to act early to 'stop it before it happens'.