What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Preventive vs Predictive - What's the difference?

preventive | predictive |

As adjectives the difference between preventive and predictive

is that preventive is preventing, hindering, or acting as an obstacle to while predictive is useful in predicting.

As a noun preventive

is a thing that prevents, hinders, or acts as an obstacle to.

preventive

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Preventing, hindering, or acting as an obstacle to.
  • Carried out to deter military aggression.
  • Slowing the development of an illness; prophylactic.
  • * Sir Thomas Browne
  • Physic is either curative or preventive .
  • (obsolete) Going before; preceding.
  • * Cudworth
  • Any previous counsel or preventive understanding.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (dated) A thing that prevents, hinders, or acts as an obstacle to.
  • * 1856 , Henry William Herbert, The Complete Manual for Young Sportsmen
  • Dogs should be warmly but airily housed; heartily, but not heatingly, fed — old Indian meal, mixed with oatmeal, suppawn, is the best general food, with a small quantity of salt, which is a preventive against worms
  • (nonstandard) A thing that slows the development of an illness.
  • A contraceptive, especially a condom.
  • Alternative forms

    * preventative

    Usage notes

    * Many speakers prefer to use preventive'' in adjective senses and ''preventative in noun senses.[http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/nonerrors.html
  • preventive]
  • ----

    predictive

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Useful in predicting.
  • :The amount of rain in April is predictive of the number of mosquitoes in May.
  • (computing) Describing a predictor.
  • Derived terms

    *predictive text

    Antonyms

    *reactive