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Prevent vs Hinder - What's the difference?

prevent | hinder | Synonyms |

Hinder is a synonym of prevent.



In transitive terms the difference between prevent and hinder

is that prevent is to stop; to keep (from happening) while hinder is to keep back; to delay or impede; to prevent.

As an adjective hinder is

of or belonging to that part or end which is in the rear or hind, or which follows.

As a noun hinder is

the buttocks.

prevent

English

Alternative forms

* (archaic)

Verb

(en verb)
  • To stop; to keep (from happening).
    • I brushed my teeth to prevent them from going yellow.
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=October 1 , author=Tom Fordyce , title=Rugby World Cup 2011: England 16-12 Scotland , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=Scotland must now hope Georgia produce a huge upset and beat Argentina by at least eight points in Sunday's final Pool B match to prevent them failing to make the last eight for the first time in World Cup history.}}
  • * 1897 , Henry James, What Maisie Knew :
    • ‘I think you must be mad, and she shall not have a glimpse of it while I'm here to prevent !’
  • (obsolete) To come before; to precede.
  • * Bible, 1 Thess. iv. 15
    • We which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
  • * Book of Common Prayer
    • We pray thee that thy grace may always prevent and follow us.
  • * Prior
    • Then had I come, preventing Sheba's queen.
  • (obsolete) To outdo, surpass.
  • * 1596 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , IV.i:
    • With that he put his spurres vnto his steed, / With speare in rest, and toward him did fare, / Like shaft out of a bow preuenting speed.
  • (obsolete) To be beforehand with; to anticipate.
  • * Alexander Pope
    • their ready guilt preventing thy commands

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Derived terms

    * preventative * prevention * preventive

    hinder

    English

    Alternative forms

    * hindre (archaic)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) hindrian, from (etyl) .

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To make difficult to accomplish; to frustrate, act as obstacle.
    • A drought hinders the growth of plants.
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=December 10 , author=David Ornstein , title=Arsenal 1 - 0 Everton , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=Arsenal were playing without a recognised full-back - their defence comprising four centre-halves - and the lack of width was hindering their progress.}}
  • * 1599 , act ii, scene 2 (act i; First Folio ed.):
    • Since God ?o graciou?ly hath brought to light
    This dangerous Trea?on, lurking in our way,
    To hinder our beginnings.
  • To keep back; to delay or impede; to prevent.
  • * 1591 , act ii, scene 7 (First Folio ed.):
    • Then let me goe, and hinder not my cour?e
  • * John Locke
    • What hinders younger brothers, being fathers of families, from having the same right?
  • (obsolete) To cause harm.
    • Quotations
    * (English Citations of "hinder")
    Synonyms
    * (to delay or impede movement) bar, block, delay, hamper, impede, obstruct, restrain, stop * (to make a task difficult) delay, frustrate, hamper, impede, obstruct, prevent, thwart * See also
    Antonyms
    * (to delay or impede movement) aid, assist, help * (to make a task difficult) assist, expedite, facilitate, help
    Derived terms
    * hinderment * hinderer * hindrance * unhindered

    Etymology 2

    (hind)

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Of or belonging to that part or end which is in the rear or hind, or which follows.
    • the hinder end of a wagon
    the hinder parts of a horse
  • * 1990 - C. W. H. Havard (ed.), Black's Medical Dictionary , 36th edition, p 673
    • On a line dividing the front two-thirds from the hinder one-third, and set in the shape of a V, is a row of seven to twelve large flat-topped circumvallate papillae, ...
  • (hind)
    • Usage notes
    Most current uses of this adjective occur in anatomical contexts.
    Quotations
    * (English Citations of "hinder")
    Synonyms
    * (of or belonging to that part in the rear) back, hind, rear, posterior
    Antonyms
    * (of or belonging to that part in the rear) fore, front
    Related terms
    * hind * hindermost * hindmost

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (slang, euphemistic) The buttocks.
  • * 1997 , Richard Laliberte and Stephen C. George, The Men's Health Guide to Peak Conditioning [http://books.google.com/books?id=2MOrDKokat8C], ISBN 0875963234, page 195:
    • Like martial arts, in-line skating is predicated on the notion that sooner or later you're going to end up on your hinder .
    Quotations
    * (English Citations of "hinder")