What is the difference between preventive and preventative

Let us take a closer look. In the medical world, especially the world of medicine, preventive is a word that has great significance and use. The drugs that are used to prevent the onset of a disease or play a role in the delay of a disease are commonly referred to as preventive drugs.

In industries, preventive maintenance is a periodic checkup or maintenance procedure that is carried out at regular intervals to ensure that machines and tools keep on working smoothly, and there is no stoppage of work on account of faults or breakages that can be avoided. Thus, preventive is a word that describes a thing that is helpful in preventing in the occurrence of an event that is undesirable. It is a fact, and dictionaries around the world corroborate the fact, that preventive is the adjective that has traditionally been used for anything that prevents an undesirable event such as disease or breakdown.

However, of late, preventative is the word that has increasingly emerged as an alternative for preventive. The bottom line is, you should feel free to use either one of these words to describe something that stops something bad from happening. However, be aware that you may encounter writers, editors, and grammarians who believe that preventive is better, older, and more correct than preventative. None of this is true, but if you want to avoid any conflict, use preventive.

Learner's Dictionary mobile search. Learner's Dictionary. Ask the Editor. Question What is the difference between preventive and preventative?

I hope this helps. Vocabulary Quiz. Take the Quiz ». A clear answer. A little contextual perspective. Here is the basic premise behind the objections: if two similar adjectives are derived from the same verb, then one of them must be in some way inferior to the other, and the likely culprit is the longer one. The second says that the first guy, along with anyone else who has a horse in this race, is wrong.

So where else might you turn?