preventive
Meaning of preventive: Preventive measures, such as vaccines, screening tests, and risk-reducing lifestyle changes, aim to stop a disease from developing rather than treat it afterward.
Definition of preventive
Preventive describes an action, medication, or measure intended to keep a disease or health problem from developing or worsening, rather than treating it after it appears. The word applies broadly, from vaccines and screening tests to lifestyle changes and medications taken specifically to lower future risk.
Preventive care is often organized into levels: measures that stop a disease from starting in the first place, such as vaccination; measures that detect a condition early, before symptoms appear, such as cancer screening; and measures that limit complications in someone who already has a diagnosed condition. Each level targets a different point in the course of disease.
Preventive approaches are distinct from curative or symptomatic treatments, which address a condition that has already developed. Because prevention often addresses risk that has not yet produced noticeable illness, its value is usually assessed across a population or over time rather than through a single visible outcome.
Also known as
Used in a sentence
The clinic recommended several preventive measures, including vaccination and routine cancer screening, appropriate for the patient's age.
Good to know
Preventive is often used alongside prophylactic, though prophylactic is more commonly applied to a specific medication or intervention rather than to broader health measures.