prevent

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To stop something from happening.

   I brush my teeth regularly to prevent tooth decay.

2. 2
   verb

   To stop someone from doing something.

   The heavy rain prevented us from going out.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Prevent comes from Latin praevenire, “to precede” or “hinder.” In late Middle English it meant “to act before” or “anticipate”; this developed into the idea of thwarting someone’s plans and then into the modern sense of stopping something from happening.

From Middle English preventen (“anticipate”), from Latin praeventus, perfect passive participle of praeveniō (“to anticipate”), from prae (“before”) + veniō (“to come”).

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary