preventive

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/prɪˈvɛntɪv/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/prɪˈvɛntɪv/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(pri ven′tiv)


WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
pre•ven•tive /prɪˈvɛntɪv/USA pronunciation  also pre•vent•a•tive /prɪˈvɛntətɪv/USA pronunciation   adj. 
  1. of or relating to prevention:preventive measures; preventive medicine.

n. [countable]
  1. Medicinea drug or other substance for preventing disease.
  2. a person or thing that prevents something.
See -ven-.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
pre•ven•tive  (pri ven′tiv),USA pronunciation adj. 
  1. Medicineof or noting a drug, vaccine, etc., for preventing disease; prophylactic.
  2. serving to prevent or hinder:preventive measures.

n. 
  1. Medicinea drug or other substance for preventing disease.
  2. a preventive agent or measure.
Also, pre•vent•a•tive  (pri ven′tə tiv)USA pronunciation (for defs. 2, 4).
  • prevent + -ive 1630–40
pre•ven′tive•ly, adv. 
pre•ven′tive•ness, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
preventive /prɪˈvɛntɪv/ adj
  1. tending or intended to prevent or hinder
  2. tending to prevent disease; prophylactic
  3. (in Britain) of, relating to, or belonging to the customs and excise service or the coastguard
 n
  1. something that serves to prevent or hinder
  2. any drug or agent that tends to prevent or protect against disease
  3. another name for contraceptive
Also (except for sense 3): preventative preˈventively adv
'preventive' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
preventative - prophylactic - well-woman - calcium fluoride - cromolyn sodium - dimenhydrinate - disseminate - health maintenance organization - pellagra-preventive factor - petrolatum - P.P. factor - preemptive - preemptive strike - prevention - preventive detention - preventive law - preventive medicine - preventive war - public health - vaccinate - vaccine - sealant

🗣️Forum discussions with the word(s) "preventive" in the title:


Look up "preventive" at Merriam-Webster
Look up "preventive" at dictionary.com
  • Go to Preferences page and choose from different actions for taps or mouse clicks.

In other languages: Spanish | French | Italian | Portuguese | Romanian | German | Dutch | Swedish | Russian | Polish | Czech | Greek | Turkish | Chinese | Japanese | Korean | Arabic

Advertisements
Advertisements
Report an inappropriate ad.
WordReference.com
WORD OF THE DAY
GET THE DAILY EMAIL!

Become a WordReference Supporter to view the site ad-free.