prophylactic
1
7.5
- adjective
- /ˌprɒfɪˈlæktɪk/
- Specialized
:
anticonceptivo
- One alternative to postoperative prophylactic antibiotic drops is saline irrigation in the operating room.
Examples
-
Prophylactic devices, such as condoms, may either be unavailable or improperly promoted.
Academic text (1990) -
The use of prophylactic drug therapy is controversial.
Academic text (2001) -
There were puns that could make endings almost impossible, like certain very thick prophylactic devices.
Fiction book (1998) -
Doctors often recommend using prophylactic measures to avoid unwanted pregnancies.
-
Condoms are a common example of a prophylactic method for preventing sexually transmitted infections.
-
To ensure safety, they decided to use a prophylactic during their intimate moments.
Synonyms
17
4.4
Able to stop a woman from becoming pregnant
Able to stop someone from becoming pregnant
Compounds
- NSFW
1
6.4
Something people use to prevent pregnancy, like a condom or diaphragm
How Effective
Surface Forms
Morphology
prophylactic = prophylaxis (semi-transparent) = prophylaxis + ic
Adjective formed from 'prophylaxis' plus the adjective-forming suffix '-ic'; the contraceptive-specific sense is a semantic specialization of 'preventive'.
Etymology
Prophylactic comes from Greek words pro- 'before' and phylax 'guard'. When used about birth control, it means a method that 'guards before' conception to stop pregnancy.