as in preventive
concerned with or serving to keep something from happening
the many prophylactic measures that city officials could have taken to reduce the scope of the disaster
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Recent Examples of prophylactic
These include prophylactic vaccines, which prevent cancer, and therapeutic ones, which protect women who have already had breast cancer from getting it again.
—
Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 1 Oct. 2025
Two injections of lenacapavir every six months offer near-perfect protection; older prophylactic treatments require daily pills, a challenge in countries with weak health systems.
—Preeti Jha, semafor.com, 24 Sep. 2025
The report notes, though, that only women with a high risk of preeclampsia should use prophylactic low aspirin to prevent early pregancy loss, fetal growth restriction, stillbirth or early delivery.
—Max Rego, The Hill, 23 Sep. 2025
Most people with moderate to severe hemophilia B depend on weekly life-long prophylactic infusions of factor IX, which temporarily replaces or supplements low levels of the blood-clotting factor.
—Beth Warren, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prophylactic
Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 1 Oct. 2025
Two injections of lenacapavir every six months offer near-perfect protection; older prophylactic treatments require daily pills, a challenge in countries with weak health systems.
—Preeti Jha, semafor.com, 24 Sep. 2025
The report notes, though, that only women with a high risk of preeclampsia should use prophylactic low aspirin to prevent early pregancy loss, fetal growth restriction, stillbirth or early delivery.
—Max Rego, The Hill, 23 Sep. 2025
Most people with moderate to severe hemophilia B depend on weekly life-long prophylactic infusions of factor IX, which temporarily replaces or supplements low levels of the blood-clotting factor.
—Beth Warren, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prophylactic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prophylactic
Adjective
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Bassan said she was also inspired by actor Angelina Jolie, who disclosed her own preventive mastectomy in a 2013 column in The New York Times.—
Brett Kelman,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2026
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Mobile clinics help close this gap by bringing preventive, primary, and behavioral health care directly to where people live, work, and gather.—
Crystal Cene,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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People without health insurance tend to seek less preventative treatment, become sick more frequently, and die younger than do people with insurance.—
Andre Mouchard,
Oc Register,
4 Apr. 2026
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O'Hara acknowledged that various groups within the city are working on preventative measures.—
Conor Wight,
CBS News,
3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Prophylactic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prophylactic. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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