prevent
pre·vent/pɹɪˈvɛnt/verb
prevent is spelled P-R-E-V-E-N-T: 7 letters and 2 syllables (pre·vent). It appears 62 times per million words in written English, the 1,696th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, prevent means “To stop (an outcome); to keep from (doing something)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in prevent?
| Letters | 7: P-R-E-V-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: pre·vent |
| In writing | 62 times per million words; the 1,696th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is prevent?
Prevent appears 62 times per million words in written English, the 1,696th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce prevent?
- US /pɹɪˈvɛnt/
- /pɹəˈvɛnt/
Prevent has 2 syllables, split pre·vent in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-prevent.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with prevent?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as prevent from its last stressed vowel (/ɛnt/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of prevent
- prevents present, singular, he/she/it
- preventing participle, present
- prevented participle, past
- prævent
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does prevent mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To stop (an outcome); to keep from (doing something).
I brush my teeth regularly to prevent tooth decay.
- 2
archaicTo take preventative measures.
- 3
obsoleteTo come before; to precede.
- 4
obsoleteTo outdo, surpass.
- 5
obsoleteTo be beforehand with; to anticipate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Prevent in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to keep from happening – see also forestall, avert, ward off, impede:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | empêcher |
| German | verhindern, vorbeugen, etwas daran hindern (zu geschehen) |
| Portuguese | impedir, prevenir |
| Spanish | prevenir |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does prevent come from?
From Middle English preventen (“anticipate”), from Latin praeventus, perfect passive participle of praeveniō (“to anticipate”), from prae (“before”) + veniō (“to come”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).