prevent
verb OPAL WOPAL S
/prɪˈvent/
/prɪˈvent/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they prevent | /prɪˈvent/ /prɪˈvent/ |
| he / she / it prevents | /prɪˈvents/ /prɪˈvents/ |
| past simple prevented | /prɪˈventɪd/ /prɪˈventɪd/ |
| past participle prevented | /prɪˈventɪd/ /prɪˈventɪd/ |
| -ing form preventing | /prɪˈventɪŋ/ /prɪˈventɪŋ/ |
- to stop somebody from doing something; to stop something from happening
- prevent something/somebody The accident could have been prevented.
- Maddie would have joined the army if an injury had not prevented her.
- The government took steps to prevent a scandal.
- prevent somebody/something from doing something He is prevented by law from holding a licence.
- Nothing would prevent him from speaking out against injustice.
- prevent somebody/something doing something (British English) Nothing would prevent him speaking out against injustice.
Extra Examples- A good sunscreen will help prevent sunburn.
- These strategies are aimed at preventing crime.
- Action must be swift in order to prevent further damage.
- The drug inhibits the replication of cancer cells, thereby preventing their spread.
- Better intelligence could have possibly prevented the attack.
- The whole affair is an outrage and the authorities have done nothing to prevent it.
- a study to determine whether the brace can reliably prevent knee injuries
- No one can prevent you from attending this meeting.
- There's nothing to prevent these guys from copying our idea.
- They took action to prevent the disease from spreading.
- These barriers completely prevent new companies from entering the market.
- This new legislation effectively prevents us from trading.
- There was nothing to prevent him setting up in business on the premises.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- effectively
- reliably
- successfully
- …
- be able to
- be unable to
- can
- …
- from
- aimed at preventing something
- action to prevent something
- measures to prevent something
- …
Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘act in anticipation of’): from Latin praevent- ‘preceded, hindered’, from the verb praevenire, from prae ‘before’ + venire ‘come’.