prevent

/prɪˈvent/ (bre, ipa) · /prɪˈvent/ (ame, ipa) · /pri-ˈvent/ (ame, mw)

prevent — verb

  • preventpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • preventshe / she / it
  • preventedpast simple
  • preventing-ing form

1. to take action in order to make sure that something does not happen or that some

1.動詞及物B1
釋義

to take action in order to make sure that something does not happen or that someone does not do what they intended to do.

例句

Trang's quick thinking prevented a serious accident on the highway.

prevented + noun phrase (quick thinking prevented an accident)

The new building code is designed to prevent fires from spreading quickly.

passive: designed to prevent [noun] from [gerund]

同義詞
  • stop

    more general; can mean interrupt something already happening, not just act beforehand

  • avoid

    focuses on keeping away from something rather than actively blocking it

  • hinder

    more formal; suggests making something difficult rather than impossible

  • block

    more physical or concrete; often about a barrier or obstacle

反義詞
  • allow

    to let something happen

  • cause

    to make something happen

文法句型

prevent + noun phrase

prevent + noun + from + gerund

prevent + gerund (informal)

用法筆記

Unlike stop, prevent emphasises action taken beforehand to avoid something rather than interrupting something already in progress. The structure prevent + object + from + gerund (prevent him from leaving) is standard in formal English. In informal spoken English, from may be dropped (The rain prevented us going out), but this is less common in writing.

常見錯誤

❌The medicine prevented him to get sick.
✅The medicine prevented him from getting sick.
💡After prevent, use from + gerund, not to + infinitive.
❌We must prevent the disease.' (when you mean 'we must avoid the disease')
✅We must prevent the disease from spreading.
💡Prevent needs an object that can be stopped; use avoid when the object is something you simply stay away from.