preventative

1 of 2

adjective

pre·​ven·​ta·​tive pri-ˈven-tə-tiv 

: devoted to or concerned with preventing something from happening : preventive entry 1

The best preventative medicine that you can give to your plants is to mulch them.

—Ann Whynman

Los Angeles County promised to revamp its system, gradually reducing the use of expensive inpatient hospitals through more preventative care at outpatient clinics.

—Jonathan Cohn

preventative

2 of 2

noun

plural preventatives

: something that serves to prevent something from occurring : preventive entry 2

We've got the live vaccinia virus vaccine as a preventative for smallpox …

—D. A. Henderson et al.

Green onions are a mosquito preventative.

—Garrison Keillor

Synonyms

Adjective

• precautionary
• preventive
• prophylactic

Examples of preventative in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

According to Thai National Parks, some communities believe the cat’s fur keeps dangerous tigers away and will burn the pelt of the animals as a preventative measure, or eat the animal. —Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 1 May 2024

Still, the agency has agreed to a number of remedies including implementing a strategic maintenance plan to renovate its 87 station elevators, promptly repair out-of-service station elevators and escalators and implement a preventative plan to ensure routine access. —Sierra Lopez, The Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1655, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1651, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

preventative

adjective or noun

pre·​ven·​ta·​tive pri-ˈvent-ət-iv 

: preventive

Medical Definition

preventative

adjective or noun

pre·​ven·​ta·​tive pri-ˈvent-ət-iv 

: preventive