prevent

prevent 预防，防止

pre-,在前，早于，预先，-vent,走，词源同advent,venue.比喻用法。

prevent

prevent: [15] If you prevent someone, you ‘come before’ them (and indeed that literal meaning of the verb survived for some time: Thomas Cromwell wrote in 1538 ‘I have sent it unto him after the departure of the said Muriell, to the intent he might prevent the ambassadors post and you have leisure to consult and advise upon the same’; and as late as 1766 we find in Frances Sheridan’s Sidney Biddulph ‘I am an early riser, yet my lord V – prevented me the next morning, for I found him in the parlour when I came downstairs’).

The word comes from Latin praevenīre, a compound verb formed from the prefix prae- ‘before’ and venīre ‘come’. Already in Latin, though, it had progressed semantically from ‘come before’ via ‘act in advance of, anticipate’ to ‘hinder’, and this meaning emerged in English in the 16th century.
=> adventure, venue

prevent (v.)

early 15c., "act in anticipation of," from Latin praeventus, past participle of praevenire "come before, anticipate, hinder," in Late Latin also "to prevent," from prae "before" (see pre-) + venire "to come" (see venue). Originally literal; sense of "anticipate to hinder" was in Latin, but not recorded in English until 1540s.

1. A dentist may decide to extract the tooth to prevent recurrent trouble.

牙医可能会决定拔掉那颗牙，以免反复发作。

2. The security zone was set up to prevent guerrilla infiltrations.

设立了安全区以防止游击队员的渗入。

3. Smear Vaseline on to your baby's skin to prevent soreness.

给孩子皮肤上抹些凡士林以防止肿痛。

4. The security forces had to intervene to prevent the situation worsening.

安全部队不得不介入，以防止局势进一步恶化。

5. Police are out in force to prevent a recurrence of the violence.

警方出动大量警力防止暴力事件再次发生。

【hamper, hinder, block, prevent, bar, obstruct】
这组词都有“阻止、阻塞”的意思，其区别是：
hamper: 侧重因受到约束或阻碍而造成的行动困难。
hinder: 语气较轻，多指阻碍、拖延人或事，强调使进展速度缓慢下来。
block: 语气强烈，指有效堵住了通道，使人或物无法通过。
prevent: 含义广泛，指采取预防措施或设置障碍去阻止某人或某事。
bar: 含义与block很接近，指阻塞通道或禁止出入，但有对暗示不用障碍物的阻止或禁止。
obstruct: 正式用词，语气强，多指以干扰或设置障碍的方式阻碍交通，使不能自由畅通。