preventative
adj.adj. used to stop something bad from happening before it starts. You use this to describe medicine, rules, or actions that keep you safe or healthy.
adj. intended to keep something from happening, especially something undesirable like disease or accidents. Often used attributively before a noun.
Regular exercise is a great preventative measure for many health issues.
The company installed new software as a preventative step against future cyber attacks.
Public health officials argue that investing in preventative care significantly reduces the long-term financial burden on the national healthcare system by catching chronic conditions early.
Often used interchangeably with 'preventive'; both are correct, though 'preventive' is more common in academic writing.
- Verbprevent
- Nounprevention
- Adjectivepreventable
- Adjectivepreventative
- Adjectivepreventive