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
Jacqueline Howard, CNN Money, 16 May 2025
Meanwhile, Senate Bill 133, which aimed to promote safe firearm storage, stalled in committee without receiving a hearing or vote, underscoring the partisan barriers that block preventive gun legislation.
—Tyler Kirby, Kansas City Star, 15 May 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
Early detection of these amyloid plaques could open the door for a person to take steps to slow the progression of disease, such as starting preventive treatment with medications.
—Jacqueline Howard, CNN Money, 16 May 2025
Meanwhile, Senate Bill 133, which aimed to promote safe firearm storage, stalled in committee without receiving a hearing or vote, underscoring the partisan barriers that block preventive gun legislation.
—Tyler Kirby, Kansas City Star, 15 May 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for preventive
precaution
Noun
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Travelers are advised to exercise normal precautions when traveling in the country.—
Michael Cappetta,
Travel + Leisure,
23 May 2025
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Melvin and Verlander are looking at it as a necessary precaution and outwardly have expressed confidence that his stuff will bounce back.—
Jerry McDonald,
Mercury News,
23 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Preventive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/preventive. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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