prevention

noun

pre·​ven·​tion pri-ˈven(t)-shən How to pronounce prevention (audio)
Synonyms of prevention
: the act of preventing or hindering

Synonyms of prevention

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Examples of prevention in a Sentence

Exercise and diet play a role in the prevention of heart disease. good crowd control is crucial to the prevention of riots
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep in mind that monitoring services cannot guarantee prevention of identity theft or detect every form of medical fraud. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026 Its existing Tron Eyes technology uses convolutional neural networks to analyze imagery for applications including disaster prevention, infrastructure inspection, agriculture and transportation. — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026 The Rat City Arts Festival works to educate people on rodent prevention through rat walks and mitigation education, particularly in the Allston and Brighton areas. — Mike Sullivan, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026 The 21 states fully running their own marketplaces generally have more robust fraud prevention programs, such as multifactor authentication, and have reported few or none of the kinds of unauthorized sign-ups plaguing the federal marketplace. — Julie Appleby, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for prevention

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of prevention was in the 15th century

Phrases Containing prevention

Rhymes for prevention

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Browse Nearby Words

preventingly
prevention
preventional
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Cite this Entry

“Prevention.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prevention. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Kids Definition

prevention

noun
pre·​ven·​tion pri-ˈven-chən How to pronounce prevention (audio)
: the act or practice of preventing something
the prevention of fires
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