prevent
Verb
Verb Forms: prevented, preventing, prevents
- To stop something from happening or arising.
- keep from happening or arising; make impossible
- stop (someone or something) from doing something or being in a certain state
- "We must prevent the cancer from spreading"
- To stop (an outcome); to keep from (doing something).
- To take preventative measures.
- To come before; to precede.
- To outdo, surpass.
- To be beforehand with; to anticipate.
Examples
- A good Scrabble player tries to PREVENT opponents from accessing triple word score squares.
- I brush my teeth regularly to prevent tooth decay.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English preventen (“anticipate”), from Latin praeventus, perfect passive participle of praeveniō (“I anticipate”), from prae (“before”) + veniō (“I come”).
Antonyms
Scrabble Score: 12
prevent: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordprevent: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
prevent: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary
Words With Friends Score: 15
prevent: valid Words With Friends Word