preventive strike
- noun
- /prɪˈvɛntɪv straɪk/
- Formal
:
ataque preventivo
- The military adviser recommended a preventive strike to deter an impending attack from enemy forces.
Examples
-
There are some precedents for preventive strikes, such as Israel's attack on Iraq's Osirak nuclear complex in 1981 or the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq some two decades later.
Academic text (2005) -
In addition, Saudi nuclear acquisition could prompt a preventive strike by Israel—especially if the sale became known before the weapon was activated.
Academic text (2013) -
The Red Army was not, however, to march in a preventive strike, but to carry out a full-fledged assault to the west.
Academic text (1996) -
Nor would carrying out a preventive strike on Iranian nuclear installations accomplish much good.
Academic text (2006) -
Given Israel's military superiority, such a preventive strike was never launched.
Academic text (2007) -
It is this last consideration of feasibility that is likely to determine the use of preventive strikes in the future.
Academic text (2005) -
Finally, if diplomacy fails, Washington needs to revisit its own military options and review plans for containing the political and military fallout from an Israeli preventive strike.
Blog text (13) -
Given Israeli concerns about the Iranian threat and doubts about diplomacy, Israel might act before then to order a preventive strike on Iran's nuclear installations to set back Tehran's program.
Blog text (13) -
Using preventive strikes to destroy Iran's developing weapons program would also be much easier said than done, given the imperfect nature of the intelligence on Iran's program and the operational challenges of attacking its dispersed and buried nuclear facilities.
Academic text (2005) -
In Europe, like the Washington and London Naval Agreements, the Anglo-German Naval Agreement allowed Berlin to construct the Imperial Navy without the fear of a British preventive strike (Hall 1976, 483).
Academic text (2004)
Synonyms
3
6.8
A surprise attack carried out to stop an enemy from attacking first
A move by an army done before an enemy starts to fight to stop them
Action taken before an expected attack to punish or prevent it
Antonyms
How Aggressive
476
4.3
- Formal
3
6.8
10
6.3
23
7.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a military attack launched to prevent expected aggression' is directly derivable from 'preventive' (designed to avert) combined with 'strike' (an offensive action). This adjective+noun composition is literal and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily understand it.
Etymology
Preventive strike comes from the idea of attacking first to stop a larger attack later. Preventive means to 'stop something before it starts' and strike means an attack, so a preventive strike is an attack made to 'prevent' or 'deter' an expected enemy attack.