Prevent, anticipate, forestall mean to deal with beforehand. Prevent implies taking advance measures against something possible or probable. Anticipate may imply merely getting ahead of another by.
To prevent is to stop something effectually by forestalling action and rendering it impossible: To prevent the sending of a message. See examples of prevent used in a sentence.
To prevent means to stop something from happening or arising. English dictionary and integrated thesaurus for learners, writers, teachers, and students with advanced, intermediate, and beginner levels. The verb prevent means "to keep something from happening," like when you use a complicated password to prevent hackers from accessing your account.