as in preventative
concerned with or serving to keep something from happening
if you start taking this preventive medicine now, you may not get sick after all
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as in precaution
a measure taken to preclude loss or injury
if people took the simple preventive of frequently washing their hands, the spread of germs could be greatly reduced
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Recent Examples of preventive
Vicky Hallett, NPR, 1 Apr. 2025
However, most research on this subject has focused on teenagers and adolescents, making this one of the more comprehensive studies in adults, said Lauren Hale, PhD, sleep researcher and professor of family, population, and preventive medicine at Stony Brook Medicine.
—Simon Spichak, Health, 1 Apr. 2025
Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 21 July 2022
When given as a preventive, it is meant as a two-dose vaccine given four weeks apart, which research suggests can reduce the risk of infection by about 85%.
—Benjamin Ryan, NBC News, 14 July 2022
See All Example Sentences for preventive
Adjective
Truly traditional Thai food is often rooted in the idea of food as preventive medicine and centered around vegetables, herbs and spices — like gang liang, a soup dating back to at least the Ayutthaya period (1351-1767).
—Vicky Hallett, NPR, 1 Apr. 2025
However, most research on this subject has focused on teenagers and adolescents, making this one of the more comprehensive studies in adults, said Lauren Hale, PhD, sleep researcher and professor of family, population, and preventive medicine at Stony Brook Medicine.
—Simon Spichak, Health, 1 Apr. 2025
Noun
And yet little is being done in response to the danger, let alone as a preventive to keep the situation from going further off the rails.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 21 July 2022
When given as a preventive, it is meant as a two-dose vaccine given four weeks apart, which research suggests can reduce the risk of infection by about 85%.
—Benjamin Ryan, NBC News, 14 July 2022
See All Example Sentences for preventive
Cite this Entry
“Preventive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/preventive. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
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