Obviations

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Acts of making something unnecessary or removing an obstacle ; instances of preventing a problem before it happens
2. Occasions where a need is eliminated or an impediment is precluded ; the processes of forestalling issues
3. Events in which anticipated difficulties are avoided or requirements are rendered moot ; moments of proactively sidestepping complications

Etymology: "Obviations" is simply the plural of "obviation," so the word's story belongs to its singular form. "Obviation" came into Middle English from Medieval Latin "obviātiō," a noun built from "obviare," meaning "to meet in the way" or "to oppose." The Latin verb itself combines "ob," meaning "against" or "in the way of," with "via," meaning "road," so the core image is of one traveller stepping into another's path. That physical sense of blocking the road carried over into the idea of getting ahead of trouble. To obviate a problem is to stand in its way before it arrives, so the noun came to mean the prevention of problems. The plural "obviations" simply counts separate instances of that prevention.

Synonyms: avoidances, preventions, circumventions, bypassings

Antonyms: encounters, confrontations, meetings