Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

preventative

/pɹɪˈvɛntətɪv/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.13 in modern English

Syllables: pre-ven-ta-tive
IPA: /pɹɪˈvɛntətɪv/

20

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

4

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Alternative form of preventive.

noun

Alternative form of preventive.

Example Sentences

"1920, Lillien Jane Martin, Mental hygiene: two years' experience of a clinical psychologist, Warwick &York (1920), p. 78, "That part of mental hygiene which has a prophylactic character falls into two classes, group preventative mental hygiene […]""
"1968, G. Anthony Wedge, N. A. P.: New American Party, Geddes Press Printers (1968), p. 155, "Preventative defense comes in two flavors […]""
"2006, Robert Thompson and Barbara Fritchman Thompson, Repairing & Upgrading Your PC, O'Reilly (2006), p. 70, "The goals of preventative maintenance are to reduce the likelihood of hardware failures, […]""
"The seeds and roots of the water lily are likewise considered a preventative against lechery."

Etymology

From prevent + -ative.

Word Breakdown

Suffix: prevent

Inflected Forms

more preventative (comparative) most preventative (superlative) preventatives (plural)

Derived Forms

chemopreventative nonpreventative preventatively

Phrases

preventative maintenance preventative medicine

Synonyms

prophylactic preventive contraceptive contraceptive device prophylactic device birth control device hindrance hinderance hitch encumbrance incumbrance interference

Rhymes With

representative tentative argumentative unrepresentative

Questions

How do you pronounce preventative?: The recorded pronunciation is /pɹɪˈvɛntətɪv/.
What does preventative mean?: Alternative form of preventive.
Where does preventative come from?: From prevent + -ative.

How to pronounce preventative

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “preventative”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/pɹɪˈvɛntətɪv/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “preventative”.
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