"preventative" meaning in English

See preventative in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

IPA: /pɹɪˈvɛntətɪv/ Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vininn126-preventative.wav [US] Forms: more preventative [comparative], most preventative [superlative]
Etymology: From prevent + -ative. Etymology templates: {{suffix|en|prevent|ative}} prevent + -ative Head templates: {{en-adj}} preventative (comparative more preventative, superlative most preventative)
  1. Alternative form of preventive. Tags: alt-of, alternative Alternative form of: preventive Derived forms: chemopreventative, nonpreventative, preventatively, preventative maintenance, preventative medicine
    Sense id: en-preventative-en-adj-r9YDqGWv Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 67 33 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 90 10 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 92 8

Noun

IPA: /pɹɪˈvɛntətɪv/ Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vininn126-preventative.wav [US] Forms: preventatives [plural]
Etymology: From prevent + -ative. Etymology templates: {{suffix|en|prevent|ative}} prevent + -ative Head templates: {{en-noun}} preventative (plural preventatives)
  1. Alternative form of preventive. Tags: alt-of, alternative Alternative form of: preventive Synonyms: prophylactic
    Sense id: en-preventative-en-noun-r9YDqGWv Categories (other): English terms suffixed with -ative Disambiguation of English terms suffixed with -ative: 37 63

Inflected forms

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prevent",
        "3": "ative"
      },
      "expansion": "prevent + -ative",
      "name": "suffix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From prevent + -ative.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more preventative",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most preventative",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "preventative (comparative more preventative, superlative most preventative)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "preventive"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "67 33",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "90 10",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "92 8",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "derived": [
        {
          "word": "chemopreventative"
        },
        {
          "word": "nonpreventative"
        },
        {
          "word": "preventatively"
        },
        {
          "word": "preventative maintenance"
        },
        {
          "word": "preventative medicine"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "1920, Lillien Jane Martin, Mental hygiene: two years' experience of a clinical psychologist, Warwick &York (1920), p. 78,\n\"That part of mental hygiene which has a prophylactic character falls into two classes, group preventative mental hygiene […]\""
        },
        {
          "text": "1968, G. Anthony Wedge, N. A. P.: New American Party, Geddes Press Printers (1968), p. 155,\n\"Preventative defense comes in two flavors […]\""
        },
        {
          "text": "2006, Robert Thompson and Barbara Fritchman Thompson, Repairing & Upgrading Your PC, O'Reilly (2006), p. 70,\n\"The goals of preventative maintenance are to reduce the likelihood of hardware failures, […]\""
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of preventive."
      ],
      "id": "en-preventative-en-adj-r9YDqGWv",
      "links": [
        [
          "preventive",
          "preventive#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/pɹɪˈvɛntətɪv/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vininn126-preventative.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/fc/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vininn126-preventative.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vininn126-preventative.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/fc/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vininn126-preventative.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vininn126-preventative.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "preventative"
}

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prevent",
        "3": "ative"
      },
      "expansion": "prevent + -ative",
      "name": "suffix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From prevent + -ative.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "preventatives",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "preventative (plural preventatives)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "preventive"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "37 63",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms suffixed with -ative",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              64,
              76
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 16:",
          "text": "The seeds and roots of the water lily are likewise considered a preventative against lechery.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of preventive."
      ],
      "id": "en-preventative-en-noun-r9YDqGWv",
      "links": [
        [
          "preventive",
          "preventive#English"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "prophylactic"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/pɹɪˈvɛntətɪv/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vininn126-preventative.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/fc/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vininn126-preventative.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vininn126-preventative.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/fc/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vininn126-preventative.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vininn126-preventative.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "preventative"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English adjectives",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms suffixed with -ative",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "chemopreventative"
    },
    {
      "word": "nonpreventative"
    },
    {
      "word": "preventatively"
    },
    {
      "word": "preventative maintenance"
    },
    {
      "word": "preventative medicine"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prevent",
        "3": "ative"
      },
      "expansion": "prevent + -ative",
      "name": "suffix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From prevent + -ative.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more preventative",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most preventative",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "preventative (comparative more preventative, superlative most preventative)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "preventive"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "1920, Lillien Jane Martin, Mental hygiene: two years' experience of a clinical psychologist, Warwick &York (1920), p. 78,\n\"That part of mental hygiene which has a prophylactic character falls into two classes, group preventative mental hygiene […]\""
        },
        {
          "text": "1968, G. Anthony Wedge, N. A. P.: New American Party, Geddes Press Printers (1968), p. 155,\n\"Preventative defense comes in two flavors […]\""
        },
        {
          "text": "2006, Robert Thompson and Barbara Fritchman Thompson, Repairing & Upgrading Your PC, O'Reilly (2006), p. 70,\n\"The goals of preventative maintenance are to reduce the likelihood of hardware failures, […]\""
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of preventive."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "preventive",
          "preventive#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/pɹɪˈvɛntətɪv/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vininn126-preventative.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/fc/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vininn126-preventative.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vininn126-preventative.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/fc/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vininn126-preventative.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vininn126-preventative.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "preventative"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English adjectives",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms suffixed with -ative",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prevent",
        "3": "ative"
      },
      "expansion": "prevent + -ative",
      "name": "suffix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From prevent + -ative.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "preventatives",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "preventative (plural preventatives)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "preventive"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              64,
              76
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 16:",
          "text": "The seeds and roots of the water lily are likewise considered a preventative against lechery.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of preventive."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "preventive",
          "preventive#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/pɹɪˈvɛntətɪv/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vininn126-preventative.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/fc/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vininn126-preventative.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vininn126-preventative.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/fc/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vininn126-preventative.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vininn126-preventative.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "prophylactic"
    }
  ],
  "word": "preventative"
}

Download raw JSONL data for preventative meaning in English (3.8kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-08-07 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-08-05 using wiktextract (d9fa233 and 9e92f4b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.