as in to prevent
to keep from happening by taking action in advance
brushing regularly should obviate the need for frequent trips to the dentist
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Recent Examples of obviate
Anthropic is supposed to be able to obviate what Workday does in human resources and finance.
—
Jim Cramer, CNBC, 20 Feb. 2026
This imposition of consensus obviates the rather mysterious and ad hoc process of collapse, in favor of something more rigorous.
—Quanta Magazine, 13 Feb. 2026
The concern is that the AI native upstarts, such as OpenAI and Anthropic, will increasingly disintermediate the relationship those big SaaS providers have with their customers and will obviate the need for these customers to upgrade to the AI agent offerings the SaaS giants themselves are offering.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 5 Feb. 2026
In other words, the ideal legal code would obviate the need for pardoning altogether.
—Bernadette Meyler, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for obviate
Jim Cramer, CNBC, 20 Feb. 2026
This imposition of consensus obviates the rather mysterious and ad hoc process of collapse, in favor of something more rigorous.
—Quanta Magazine, 13 Feb. 2026
The concern is that the AI native upstarts, such as OpenAI and Anthropic, will increasingly disintermediate the relationship those big SaaS providers have with their customers and will obviate the need for these customers to upgrade to the AI agent offerings the SaaS giants themselves are offering.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 5 Feb. 2026
In other words, the ideal legal code would obviate the need for pardoning altogether.
—Bernadette Meyler, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for obviate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obviate
Verb
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Having legal documents on hand, at a lawyer’s office or in a file cabinet not only provides peace of mind, but can prevent conflict and legal fees when tragedy or challenges arise.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
2 Apr. 2026
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The president has repeatedly said preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon was the war's top objective.—
Saman Shafiq,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
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After amassing 105 points, the sixth-best point total in the NHL last year that tied a single-season franchise record, the Kings are seeking to avert a similar fall from grace.—
Andrew Knoll,
Daily News,
3 Apr. 2026
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And if the lab finds the two samples to be a definite mismatch, an unthinkable error will have been averted at the last possible moment.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In addition, the plaintiffs insisted that MLB’s anti-tampering rules, which preclude franchises from recruiting other teams’ players, coaches and managers, hurt older scouts.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
30 Mar. 2026
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These periods sometimes last months and preclude solar power.—
Dan Vergano,
Scientific American,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Obviate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obviate. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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