Protective vs Preventive - What's the difference?

As adjectives the difference between protective and preventive

is that protective is serving, intended or wishing to protect while preventive is preventing, hindering, or acting as an obstacle to.

As nouns the difference between protective and preventive

is that protective is something that protects while preventive is a thing that prevents, hinders, or acts as an obstacle to.

protective

English

Adjective

(en adjective)

Serving, intended or wishing to protect.

Derived terms

* protective custody

Noun

(en noun)

(British) Something that protects.

A condom.

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.htmlpreventive]
----}