Prevent — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

keep from happening or arising; make impossible

stop (someone or something) from doing something or being in a certain state

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/pɹɪvˈɛnt/

🇬🇧British English

/pɹɪvˈɛnt/

🇮🇳Indian English

/pɹɪvˈɛnt/

2 syllables Say it as /pɹɪvˈɛnt/.

Examples

My sense of tact forbids an honest answer
Your role in the projects precludes your involvement in the competitive project
We must prevent the cancer from spreading

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

keep forestall forbid foreclose preclude

Antonyms

let

Parts of Speech

verb	keep from happening or arising; make impossible “My sense of tact forbids an honest answer”
verb	stop (someone or something) from doing something or being in a certain state “We must prevent the cancer from spreading”

Word Forms

preventive	adjective	tending to prevent or hinder
preventative	adjective	tending to prevent or hinder
forestalling	noun	the act of preventing something by anticipating and disposing of it effectively
preclusion	noun	the act of preventing something by anticipating and disposing of it effectively
prevention	noun	the act of preventing

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

verhindern

verhindern, dass etwas geschieht oder entsteht; unmöglich machen

🇫🇷French

prévenir

empêcher de se produire ou de surgir ; rendre impossible

🇪🇸Spanish

prevenir

evitar que suceda o surja; imposibilitar

🇮🇹Italian

impedire

evitare che accada o si verifichi; rendere impossibile

🇳🇱Dutch

voorkomen

voorkomen dat het gebeurt of ontstaat; onmogelijk maken

🇵🇹Portuguese

evitar

evitar que aconteça ou surja; tornar impossível

🇷🇺Russian

предотвращать

не допускать возникновения или возникновения; сделать невозможным

India

🇮🇳Hindi

रोकना

घटित होने या उत्पन्न होने से बचना; असंभव बनाओ

🇧🇩Bengali

প্রতিরোধ

ঘটতে বা উঠা থেকে রক্ষা করা; অসম্ভব করা

🇮🇳Tamil

தடுக்க

நிகழாமல் அல்லது எழுவதைத் தடுக்கவும்; சாத்தியமற்றதாக்கு

🇮🇳Telugu

నిరోధిస్తాయి

జరగకుండా లేదా తలెత్తకుండా ఉంచండి; అసాధ్యం చేయండి

🇮🇳Marathi

प्रतिबंध

घडण्यापासून किंवा उद्भवण्यापासून रोखणे; अशक्य करणे

🇮🇳Gujarati

અટકાવવું

બનતા અથવા ઉદ્ભવતા અટકાવો; અશક્ય બનાવો

🇮🇳Kannada

ತಡೆಯುತ್ತವೆ

ಸಂಭವಿಸದಂತೆ ಅಥವಾ ಉದ್ಭವಿಸದಂತೆ ಇರಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಿ; ಅಸಾಧ್ಯ ಮಾಡು

🇮🇳Malayalam

തടയുക

സംഭവിക്കുകയോ ഉണ്ടാകുകയോ ചെയ്യാതെ സൂക്ഷിക്കുക; അസാധ്യമാക്കുക

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਰੋਕਣ

ਵਾਪਰਨ ਜਾਂ ਪੈਦਾ ਹੋਣ ਤੋਂ ਰੋਕੋ; ਅਸੰਭਵ ਬਣਾਉ

🇵🇰Urdu

روکنا

ہونے یا پیدا ہونے سے روکنا؛ ناممکن بنانا

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

防止

避免发生或出现；使不可能

🇯🇵Japanese

防ぐ

起こったり生じたりしないようにする。不可能にする

🇰🇷Korean

예방하다

발생하거나 발생하지 않도록 유지하십시오. 불가능하게 하다

🇻🇳Vietnamese

ngăn chặn

giữ cho không xảy ra hay phát sinh; làm cho không thể

🇹🇭Thai

ป้องกัน

ไม่ให้เกิดขึ้นหรือเกิดขึ้น; ทำให้เป็นไปไม่ได้

🇮🇩Indonesian

mencegah

menjaga agar tidak terjadi atau timbul; membuat mustahil

🇵🇭Filipino

pigilan

iwasang mangyari o bumangon; gawing imposible

🇲🇾Malay

mencegah

elakkan daripada berlaku atau timbul; buat mustahil

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

يمنع

منع حدوثه أو نشوئه؛ جعل المستحيل

🇮🇷Persian

جلوگیری کند

جلوگیری از وقوع یا به وجود آمدن؛ غیر ممکن کردن

🇹🇷Turkish

önlemek

gerçekleşmesini veya ortaya çıkmasını önlemek; imkansız kılmak

🇮🇱Hebrew

לִמְנוֹעַ

לא לקרות או להתעורר; make impossible

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'prevent'?

The primary meaning of 'prevent' is 'keep from happening or arising; make impossible'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'prevent' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'prevent' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'prevent' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'prevent' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'prevent' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'prevent' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'prevent' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'prevent' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'prevent' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'prevent' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted