Preventative means the same thing. The question of which one you should choose depends much on your appetite for nit-pickery. Of the two, preventive is slightly older, appearing in English at …

PREVENTIVE definition: 1. intended to stop something before it happens: 2. intended to stop something before it happens…. Learn more.

Feb 25, 2022 · Is it preventive or preventative? Preventive and preventative usually mean the same thing—they’re both commonly used as adjectives to describe things intended to prevent …

Preventive medicine (protecting the patient) is being superseded by defensive medicine (protecting the doctor from litigation). Promotive and preventive healthcare interventions are …

Anything preventive hinders or stops something, especially diseases. When you prevent something, you stop it from happening. Likewise, anything preventive is used to ward off a bad …

1. Intended or used to prevent or hinder; acting as an obstacle: preventive measures. 2. Carried out to deter expected aggression by hostile forces. 3. Preventing or slowing the course of an …

Dec 11, 2025 · preventive (comparative more preventive, superlative most preventive) Preventing, hindering, or acting as an obstacle to. quotations

Definition of preventive adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

There are eight meanings listed in OED's entry for the word preventive, two of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

Nov 27, 2025 · Preventive and preventative medicine both refer to medical practices that aim to prevent disease and promote health. There is no difference between the two terms, and they …