prevent
- 01 A2 Elementary
to stop something from happening before it starts.
to keep an event or situation from occurring through prior action.
Simple“The new laws were designed to prevent accidents on the highway.”
In context“The rapid intervention of the fire department prevented the small blaze from spreading to the adjacent residential buildings.”
UsageOften used with 'from' followed by a gerund (-ing form).
PitfallThe rain prevented the game to start. The rain prevented the game from starting.Do not use an infinitive after 'prevent'. Use the pattern 'prevent something from happening'.
- 02 A2 Elementary
to make it impossible for someone to do something.
to hinder or stop someone from carrying out an action.
Simple“A heavy cold prevented her from going to the party.”
In context“Strict security protocols prevented the unauthorised visitors from entering the laboratory without a senior staff member present.”
UsageFollows the pattern 'prevent someone from doing something'.
prevent vs avoid — Avoid is staying away from a person or thing; prevent is stopping an event from occurring.
Usage prevent people · prevents an observer · prevent future
From Middle English preventen (“anticipate”), from Latin praeventus, perfect passive participle of praeveniō (“I anticipate”), from prae (“before”) + veniō (“I come”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.