Preventative — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

remedy that prevents or slows the course of an illness or disease

any obstruction that impedes or is burdensome

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/pɹɪvˈɛntətˌɪv/

🇬🇧British English

/pɹɪvˈɛntətˌɪv/

🇮🇳Indian English

/pɹɪvˈɛntətˌɪv/

4 syllables Say it as /pɹɪvˈɛntətˌɪv/.

Examples

the doctor recommended several preventatives
preventive medicine
vaccines are prophylactic

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

preventive birth control device hindrance prophylactic encumbrance hitch contraceptive contraceptive device interference hinderance prophylactic device incumbrance

Antonyms

permissive

Parts of Speech

noun	remedy that prevents or slows the course of an illness or disease “the doctor recommended several preventatives”
noun	any obstruction that impedes or is burdensome
noun	an agent or device intended to prevent conception
adjective	tending to prevent or hinder
adjective	preventing or contributing to the prevention of disease “preventive medicine”

Word Forms

preventive	adjective	preventing or contributing to the prevention of disease
prophylactic	adjective	preventing or contributing to the prevention of disease
hinder	verb	be a hindrance or obstacle to
preventive	noun	any obstruction that impedes or is burdensome
prevent	verb	keep from happening or arising; make impossible
prophylactic	noun	remedy that prevents or slows the course of an illness or disease
prophylaxis	noun	the prevention of disease

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

präventiv

Mittel, das den Verlauf einer Krankheit verhindert oder verlangsamt

🇫🇷French

préventif

remède qui prévient ou ralentit l'évolution d'une maladie ou d'une affection

🇪🇸Spanish

preventivo

Remedio que previene o retarda el curso de una enfermedad o dolencia.

🇮🇹Italian

preventivo

rimedio che previene o rallenta il decorso di una malattia o di una malattia

🇳🇱Dutch

preventief

geneesmiddel dat het verloop van een ziekte of ziekte voorkomt of vertraagt

🇵🇹Portuguese

preventivo

remédio que previne ou retarda o curso de uma doença ou enfermidade

🇷🇺Russian

профилактический

средство, которое предотвращает или замедляет течение болезни или недуга

India

🇧🇩Bengali

প্রতিরোধমূলক

প্রতিকার যা একটি অসুস্থতা বা রোগের গতিপথকে বাধা দেয় বা ধীর করে

🇮🇳Tamil

தடுப்பு

நோய் அல்லது நோயின் போக்கைத் தடுக்கும் அல்லது குறைக்கும் தீர்வு

🇮🇳Telugu

నివారణ

అనారోగ్యం లేదా వ్యాధి యొక్క కోర్సును నిరోధించే లేదా మందగించే నివారణ

🇮🇳Marathi

प्रतिबंधात्मक

उपाय जो आजार किंवा रोगाचा मार्ग प्रतिबंधित करतो किंवा कमी करतो

🇮🇳Gujarati

નિવારક

ઉપાય કે જે બીમારી અથવા રોગના કોર્સને અટકાવે છે અથવા ધીમું કરે છે

🇮🇳Kannada

ತಡೆಗಟ್ಟುವ

ಅನಾರೋಗ್ಯ ಅಥವಾ ಕಾಯಿಲೆಯ ಹಾದಿಯನ್ನು ತಡೆಯುವ ಅಥವಾ ನಿಧಾನಗೊಳಿಸುವ ಪರಿಹಾರ

🇮🇳Malayalam

പ്രതിരോധം

ഒരു രോഗത്തിൻറെയോ രോഗത്തിൻറെയോ ഗതി തടയുകയോ മന്ദഗതിയിലാക്കുകയോ ചെയ്യുന്ന പ്രതിവിധി

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਰੋਕਥਾਮ

ਉਪਾਅ ਜੋ ਕਿਸੇ ਬਿਮਾਰੀ ਜਾਂ ਬਿਮਾਰੀ ਦੇ ਕੋਰਸ ਨੂੰ ਰੋਕਦਾ ਜਾਂ ਹੌਲੀ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈ

🇵🇰Urdu

روک تھام کرنے والا

علاج جو کسی بیماری یا بیماری کے دوران کو روکتا یا سست کرتا ہے۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

预防性的

预防或减缓疾病进程的药物

🇯🇵Japanese

予防的な

病気や病気の経過を予防したり遅らせたりする治療法

🇰🇷Korean

예방

질병이나 질병의 진행을 예방하거나 늦추는 치료법

🇻🇳Vietnamese

phòng ngừa

biện pháp khắc phục ngăn ngừa hoặc làm chậm quá trình bệnh tật hoặc bệnh tật

🇹🇭Thai

ป้องกัน

การเยียวยาที่ป้องกันหรือชะลอการเจ็บป่วยหรือโรค

🇮🇩Indonesian

pencegah

obat yang mencegah atau memperlambat perjalanan penyakit atau penyakit

🇵🇭Filipino

pang-iwas

lunas na pumipigil o nagpapabagal sa kurso ng isang karamdaman o sakit

🇲🇾Malay

pencegahan

ubat yang menghalang atau melambatkan perjalanan penyakit atau penyakit

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

وقائي

علاج يمنع أو يبطئ مسار المرض أو المرض

🇮🇷Persian

پیشگیرانه

دارویی که از یک بیماری یا بیماری جلوگیری می کند یا روند آن را کند می کند

🇹🇷Turkish

önleyici

Bir hastalığın veya rahatsızlığın seyrini önleyen veya yavaşlatan çare

🇮🇱Hebrew

מוֹנֵעַ

תרופה המונעת או מאטה מהלך של מחלה או מחלה

Test Yourself1 / 3

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

The primary meaning of 'preventative' is 'remedy that prevents or slows the course of an illness or disease'.

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

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

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

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

Community Poll1 / 6

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

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'preventative' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

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

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

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

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

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

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

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

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted