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What is the difference between preventive and preventative?

preventive | preventative | Alternative forms |

Preventative is a alternative form of preventive.



As adjectives the difference between preventive and preventative

is that preventive is preventing, hindering, or acting as an obstacle to while preventative is alternative form of lang=en.

As nouns the difference between preventive and preventative

is that preventive is a thing that prevents, hinders, or acts as an obstacle to while preventative is alternative form of lang=en.

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]
    • ----

    preventative

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • *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, […]"

    • Noun

    (en noun)

    • Usage notes

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