Preventive

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /pɹɪˈvɛntɪv/

Definitions

1. Intended to stop something harmful or undesirable from happening before it occurs
2. Designed to avert or hinder the occurrence of detrimental events or conditions in advance
3. Aimed at stopping unwelcome incidents or situations before they come into existence

Etymology: "Preventive" was borrowed from New Latin "praeventivus," a term built on the Latin verb "praevenire," meaning "to come before" or "to anticipate." Its English form is a straightforward combination: "prevent," which traces back through Latin to the sense of going ahead of someone, plus the suffix "-ive," which turns the verb into an adjective describing something that serves a function. The original sense of "prevent" was literally to precede or go before, and older English uses of the verb still carried that meaning, as in praying that God would "prevent" (go ahead of) a person's needs. Over time the sense narrowed from arriving first to stopping something from happening at all, and "preventive" followed that shift, moving from the idea of getting ahead of events to the idea of blocking them before they start.

Synonyms: preventative, prophylactic, preemptive, protective, safeguarding

Antonyms: curative, remedial, therapeutic, restorative