prevented 1 of 2

adjective

as in stopped

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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
Firefighters rescued a dog named Agusta and prevented a house fire from spreading during an incident in Santa Ana, California, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. — Denis Akbari, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026 Many of those cuts were prevented through litigation and Congress’ refusal to act, the report said. — Andrew Khouri, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026 One order prevented federal agents from moving detainees out of state within seventy-two hours of being arrested; another demanded that the government return confiscated belongings to released detainees. — Emily Witt, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026 Comporta and Melides have their beach clubs and their destination dining, but strict laws regulating construction have for now prevented the kind of overdevelopment that can disrupt such an unspoiled place. — Mattie Kahn, Vogue, 31 Aug. 2026 Creeden also filed a motion for a new trial, arguing that the jury was prevented from hearing testimony from an attorney who would have told them that Creeden fully cooperated with the investigation. — Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 31 Aug. 2026 Measles can be prevented by the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine. — Eva Flowe august 31, Charlotte Observer, 31 Aug. 2026 Reuters published an interview with Sinan Can Demir, a Texas computer science student who in late July prevented a rogue version of Anthropic’s Mythos model from uploading malicious code to an open-source software project on Github. — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026 The Centers or Disease Control and Prevention says measles is a highly contagious disease best prevented by two does of the vaccine. — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 25 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prevented
  1. stopped
  2. averted
  3. precluded
  4. suppressed
Adjective
  • Three other vehicles with human drivers then appeared to illegally pass the stopped bus.
    — Keri Heath, Austin American Statesman, 3 Mar. 2026
  • The truck crossed into the eastbound lane and crashed into the stopped Kia, striking the three pedestrians, CHP said.
    — Aidin Vaziri, San Francisco Chronicle, 17 Feb. 2026
Definition of stopped
Verb
  • They would have been averted if the two sides reached a trade deal, but Canada's negotiators left Washington empty-handed on Friday evening.
    — Kevin Breuninger,Michael Wayland, CNBC, 24 Aug. 2026
  • However, when the camera reached Omri Shiff, a hurdler from Israel, both anchors inexplicably averted their attention to another participant who was apparently taking too long to get set.
    — Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 14 Aug. 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
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Cite this Entry

“Prevented.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prevented. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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