preventativeadj.n.

1655 Ld. Orrery Parthenissa IV. ii. viii. 74 All preventative thoughts of hostility were silenc'd.

1744 German Politicks 54 For preventative Wars, like preventative Physick, have rarely had any other Effect with us, than to stir Ill-humours, and so add Factions at Home to Broils abroad.

1775 Politician's Dict. II. 36 Every good political institution must have a preventative operation as well as a remedial.

1822 A. Ranken Hist. France IX. v. 104 This was merely a preventative measure.

1884 Christian World 10 July 513/3 Its action has been rather preventative than corrective.

1936 W. H. S. Smith Let. 18 July in Young Man's Country (1977) ii. 16 My principal occupation was trying ‘Bad Livelihood’ cases. These are preventative cases for securing the good behaviour of criminals by taking a bond.

1991 Brit. Jrnl. Criminol. 21 411 Concentration of preventative effort on prior victims [of crime] will be more cost-effective than concentration on a different group of similar size.

1714 Treat. Dis. Head, Brain & Nerves viii. 47 The Cure of the Apoplexy is twofold, in the Fit, or out of the Fit; the Cure out of the Fit is, properly speaking, preventative, of which I shall treat after I have shewn what is to be done in the Fit.

1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 137 To send a preventative Medicine to the Father of the Child.

1784 W. Edmonstone Ess. Prevention of Evil Injurious to Health 55 The important utility of injections, both preventative and curative.

1858 A. Trollope Dr. Thorne III. i. 12 There never had been much cordiality between the squire and Dr. Fillgrave, though Mr. Gresham had consented to take a preventative-pill from his hands.

1939 L. B. Higley in J. C. Brauer Dentistry for Children ix. 218 Many difficult problems confronting the general dentist and orthodontist could be eliminated if preventative orthodontics were more thoroughly understood.

1993 Independent on Sunday 12 Sept. (Review Suppl.) 52/3 Chloroquine and proguanil, the other favoured preventative drug, can offer 70 per cent protection.

1860 J. W. Warter Sea-board & Down II. 207 No preventative man but knew the name of Coaly!

1884 Times 29 Sept. 2/5 The cause of this state lies partly..in the inefficient organization of the preventative service.

1929 William & Mary Coll. Q. Hist. Mag. 9 82 A ‘preventative’ boat crew in Cornwall were found to be practised smugglers.

1957 Times 3 Dec. 12/6 The local Preventative Man..used to go into the local for a clandestine pint..in the course of his routine patrol.

1990 Jrnl. Afr. Hist. 31 34 Their efforts to suppress it..met with only limited success. They were hindered by the small size of the British preventative squadron.

1691 J. Flavell Πλανηλογια 155 The Remedies and Preventatives in this Case, are such as follow.

?1718 Onania iii. 58 Marriage [is] the chief Preventative, it being an Institution appointed by the Almighty, as a Remedy against Incontinence.

1751 Scribbler ii. 33 As a preventative to his exposing her Name,..he shall consent to be brought to her blindfold.

1777 S. J. Pratt Liberal Opinions V. cxv. 164 Without meeting any new preventative in my way, I at length took by the hand my friend Mr. Green.

?c1795 Strange & Wonderful Predict. C. Love (new ed.) 82 Here follows the preventative [to a French invasion]: take a poor man, and settle him in a comfortable situation.

1829 E. Bulwer-Lytton Devereux II. ii. iv. 66 The only preventative to rebellion is restraint.

1895 Argosy Oct. 427 Realizing that the best preventative against brooding was some active employment.

1939 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 43 150 There are just about as many welded tanks as riveted tanks, the latter using duprene or neoprene as a leak preventative.

1976 O. Guinness Doubt (BNC) 37 A modest dose of doubt..can be an excellent preventative of unbelief.

1998 Grocer 12 Sept. 129/2 (advt.) The company manufactures rust preventatives.

1699 B. Allen Nat. Hist. Chalybeat & Purging Waters 60 It..cureth the Mother, maketh the Barren Fruitful, and is a great Preventative against Miscarryings.

1725 J. Sedgwick New Treat. Liquors xiv. 231 That very Water with a proper antidotal Mixture would be a much greater Preventative, both in Diet and Medicine.

1793 G. Washington Writings (1892) XII. 395 Wearing flannel next the skin is the best cure for, and preventative of the Rheumatism I ever tried.

1812 R. Southey Omniana II. ccxxxviii. 265 A preventative for canine madness.

1848 J. H. Newman Loss & Gain 163 Dr. Baillie's preventative of the flatulency which tea produces.

1954 K. Russell Princ. Dairy Farming (ed. 2) xvi. 191 When a bull is regularly exercised it will pay to walk him through the cows' foot bath..as a preventative against foot-rot.

2003 Cage & Aviary Birds 6 Dec. 7/6 Sulpha drugs will provide a preventative for ‘going light’, but a course of treatment will need to be prescribed by a vet.

1901 J. A. Godfrey Sci. Sex ii. vi. 256 So long as the sheath remains whole, it is an absolute preventative.

1918 R. B. Armitage Private Sex Advice to Women x. 130 The use of ‘contraceptives’ or ‘preventatives’ is considered justified in certain cases.

1937 Life 12 Apr. 60/2 (caption) This poster warns Spanish soldiers against venereal disease thus: ‘A woman can be an enemy. Beware of her. Wash and use preventatives. Or better still, abstain.’

1994 V. L. Bullough Sci. in Bedroom i. 26 With such attitudes toward the dangers of sexual abuse, there was a determined effort to find preventatives for those unable to control their own sexuality.

1777 Dict. Love at Reproaches They are aften used preventatively by those who are conscious of deserving them.

1863 B. F. Isherwood Exper. Res. in Steam Engin. 36 The use of a steam-jacket, by acting preventatively of condensation in the cylinder, effects a saving.

1923 C. Spearman Nature of ‘Intelligence’ & Princ. of Cognition xvi. 275 When the age of schooling arrives, the embarrassments of ordinary life are to a large extent preventatively anticipated by those which the teacher imposes.

1996 S. Lavery et al. Hamlyn Encycl. Complementary Health 191/1 Preventatively, variolinum can be given to anyone who has been in contact with chickenpox and shingles.