forestall

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /fɔrˈstɔl/ UK /fɔːˈstɔːl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to prevent or hinder by taking action in advance

The company cut prices to forestall a takeover bid.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to prevent or hinder by... preempt prevent thwart obstruct anticipate avert hinder frustrate

Opposites

allow permit facilitate abet

Word family

Derived forms forestallerforestallment

Related forms fore stall

Etymology

From Old English foresteall ('an ambush, interception'), a compound of fore- ('before') and steall ('position, standing'); originally a legal term for intercepting goods before market, now meaning to prevent by acting in advance.

foresteall Old English steall Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# forestall

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /fɔrˈstɔl/
**IPA (UK):** /fɔːˈstɔːl/

## Meanings
1. to prevent or hinder by taking action in advance

## Examples
- The company cut prices to forestall a takeover bid.

## Synonyms
- preempt
- prevent
- thwart
- obstruct
- anticipate
- avert
- hinder
- frustrate

## Antonyms
- allow
- permit
- facilitate
- abet

## Derived Forms
- forestaller
- forestallment

## Related Forms
- fore
- stall

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: foresteall
- Root: steall

## Etymology
From Old English foresteall ('an ambush, interception'), a compound of fore- ('before') and steall ('position, standing'); originally a legal term for intercepting goods before market, now meaning to prevent by acting in advance.

## AI Etymology
Forestall comes from Old English foresteall ('an ambush, interception'), a compound of fore- ('before') and steall ('position, standing'); originally a legal term for intercepting goods before market, now meaning to prevent by acting in advance. The etymological trail includes Old English foresteall and Old English steall. As a verb, forestall means to prevent or hinder by taking action in advance. The same family is visible in derived forms such as forestaller and forestallment and related forms such as fore and stall. The analysis is partly morphological, with the modern form built from the elements named in the history.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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