prevented 1 of 2

adjective

as in stopped

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

prevented

2 of 2

verb

past tense of prevent
as in averted
to keep from happening by taking action in advance a lot of problems would have been prevented if we'd just prepared better

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of prevented
Verb
That strike prevented the landing of an Iranian flight carrying a Houthi delegation returning from the funeral of Iran’s supreme leader, who had been killed in the opening strikes of the war in February. — ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026 The wild swing of events gave the Wildcats (5-1, 2-1) their first Big Ten road victory this season and prevented Fitzgerald from getting his first conference victory as the coach at Michigan State (2-5, 0-4). — Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 17 Oct. 2026 But the oversight hasn’t prevented all allegations of wrongdoing. — Brittany Shammas, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026 Officials have not publicly named the community member who killed the shooter, but said the person’s actions prevented further loss at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon. — Liz Kreutz, NBC news, 16 Oct. 2026 The petition argues a court ruling Jeanie Buss cited never prevented the majority of trustees from voting to sell their shares. — Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026 Rotational rookie defensive tackle LT Overton popped up on the injury report on Friday with a foot injury that prevented him from practicing. — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Oct. 2026 But a locked gate on the dock prevented him from getting close. — Natasha Holt, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2026 The complaint argues that more than half of those deaths could have been prevented. — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 10 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prevented
  1. stopped
  2. averted
  3. precluded
  4. suppressed
Adjective
  • The girl with a backpack on could be seen crossing the street while looking at her phone before the stopped truck began moving beside her, in videos obtained by ABC station WPVI and CBS station KYW.
    — Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 16 Sep. 2026
  • The crash drew a crowd from the stopped traffic, who quickly spread photos and videos of the driver on social media.
    — Irene Wright, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of stopped
Verb
  • Jackson averted a suspension ahead of this season when authorities declined to file formal criminal charges after he was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence.
    — Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Each time the door shut behind the man, Shawn had the feeling that some danger had been temporarily dodged, some crisis averted until the next day.
    — Rachel Heng, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of averted
Adjective
  • Over the ensuing decades—and fully informed of the substantial executive power exercised by the Commission—the Supreme Court has repeatedly and expressly left Humphrey's Executor in place, and so precluded Presidents from removing Commissioners at will.
    — Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 3 Sep. 2025
Definition of precluded
Adjective
  • General Manager Ken Holland hinted at potentially being done after trading center Phillip Danault for a draft pick in December and acquiring Panarin at a suppressed price in February, though he has been known to under-promise often and, sometimes, over-deliver.
    — Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 3 Mar. 2026
  • Supervising sound editor Alastair Sirkett told IndieWire that Peter Claffey’s big, former-rugby-player frame really helps that moment sing with suppressed panic.
    — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 18 Feb. 2026
Definition of suppressed

Browse Nearby Words

preventative
prevented
preventing
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Prevented.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prevented. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of jilt

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All