preventive adjective - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced American Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com

Definition of preventive adjective from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

preventive

adjective

NAmE//prɪˈvɛntɪv//

(also preventative

NAmE//prɪˈvɛntət̮ɪv//

) [only before noun]

intended to try to stop something that causes problems or difficulties from happening preventive medicine The police were able to take preventive action and avoid a possible riot. compare curative

Want to learn more?

Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.

See preventive in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Check pronunciation: preventive

Nearby words

prevent verb
prevention noun
preventive adjective
preverbal adjective
preview noun