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preventative

preventative

26 4.1
Made to stop bad things like disease or harm
  • adjective
  • /prɪˈvɛntɪv/
translation icon : preventivo
  • There is only a limited role for maintenance treatment with antidepressants in bipolar depression: preventative medication has a greater role.
  • preventative measures
  • preventative medicine
  • preventative action

So a DUI checkpoint and its purpose is to be preventative.

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Examples

  • Because middle school students are still young, programs for these children can be preventative as well as remedial in approach.

    Academic text (2013)
  • These are preventative measures to help protect all residents.

  • So this just sort of is a little preventative measure.

  • But really the early preventative strategies are the most important thing.

  • Families that are struggling need preventative services to help them out.

    Academic text (2011)
  • This scheme is not a cure, it's a preventative.

  • Nonetheless, improved organization and a greater emphasis on preventative medicine have sustained the essential quality of services.

    Academic text (2004)
  • Many individuals may therefore require ongoing and sometimes long-term supportive and preventative health care.

    Academic text (2012)
  • The evidence of human-to-human transmission in this outbreak confirms the need for preventative measures in home care and health care settings.

    Academic text (2015)
  • Regular exercise is an important preventative measure against heart disease.

Synonyms

protective
vspreventative
163 2.4

Made to keep a person or thing safe from harm

is about stopping unwanted events rather than just shielding
preventive
vspreventative
57 3.8

Intended to stop problems before they start

is the longer variant sometimes used instead
preemptive
vspreventative
  • US
48 7.0

Acting before a problem to stop it from happening

aims to stop harm generally rather than acting early to forestall
precautionary
vspreventative
22 5.0

Done to stop possible harm before it happens

is the general aim to stop harm not only specific safeguards
prophylactic
vspreventative
  • Specialized
4 7.5

Used to prevent infection or disease

is broader and applies to any harm not only illness
precautional
vspreventative
  • Formal
8.6

Done in advance to prevent harm

is the same idea of stopping harm expressed in less formal language
pre-emptive
vspreventative
6.7

Taking action before a problem to stop it from happening

is broader aiming to stop harm generally instead of only early actions
preemptory
vspreventative
8.0

Acting early to stop something bad from happening

aims to stop harm generally not specifically to block others' moves
interceptive
vspreventative
  • Specialized
8.4

Treatment given early to stop a health problem getting worse

is more general covering all efforts to stop harm or disease
preventionist
vspreventative
7.4

Supporting policies that stop problems before they start

focuses on action intended to stop harm rather than an ideological stance

Antonyms

6 7.2

That makes something happen

How Preventative

prophylactic
  • Specialized
4 7.5
preventative
26 4.1
precautionary
22 5.0
proactive
68 4.6
reactive
  • Specialized
2 6.1

Surface Forms

preventative positive
preventativer comparative
preventativest superlative

Morphology

preventative = prevent (transparent) = prevent + ative

The adjective is formed regularly from the verb 'prevent' with the productive adjectival suffix '-ative', so the meaning 'intended to stop' is directly derived.

Etymology

Preventative comes from Latin parts pre- 'before' and venire 'to come', the same idea behind prevent. It means doing something 'before' a problem arrives, so a preventative action is one taken to stop harm from happening.