WordValepreclude
to prevent from happening
to prevent from happening
In more detail
to prevent something from happening or to make it impossible for something to occur; to prevent someone from doing something
Examples
- The bad weather will preclude us from going to the beach this weekend.
- His criminal record precluded him from getting the job.
How to use preclude
Preclude is a formal verb meaning to make something impossible or to prevent someone from doing something, often used in legal, academic, or professional contexts. It suggests that something is ruled out or made impossible by circumstances, decisions, or conditions, rather than simply prevented at a given moment. It carries a sense of finality or inevitability greater than prevent.
Common phrases
- preclude the possibility
- preclude someone from doing something
- preclude any doubt
- effectively preclude
- completely preclude
Synonyms
prevent · exclude · rule out · bar · prohibit
Opposites
permit · allow · enable
Word family
precluded (adjective/past participle) · preclusion (noun) · precluding (present participle)
A common mistake
Learners sometimes use preclude with 'to' before the infinitive (preclude to do) when it should be followed by 'from' (preclude from doing), or use it when prevent would be more natural in everyday speech.
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