prevent
verb
Simple meaning
Stop from doing something or being in a certain state.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
prihvehntSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
pɹɪˈvɛnt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Stop (someone or something) from doing something or being in a certain state
“We must prevent the cancer from spreading.”
transitive
To stop (an outcome); to keep from (doing something).
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Stop (someone or something) from doing something or being in a certain state
Used this way, prevent is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“We must prevent the cancer from spreading.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use prevent
- “I brush my teeth regularly to prevent them from turning yellow.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Remedy that prevents or slows the course of an illness or disease.
Capable of being prevented.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
The act of preventing.
Remedy that prevents or slows the course of an illness or disease.
The branch of medicine concerned with preventing disease.
A federal agency in the Department of Health and Human Services.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.