How to Use preventative in a Sentence

preventative

1 of 2 adjective
  • Paying for preventative care saves money in the long run.
    — Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 4 May 2026
  • Here's how to get rid of sink drain odors the right way along with a few preventative measures to keep odors from coming back.
    — Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 25 Jan. 2026
  • The system is still catching up to the fact that preventative care is in fact necessary now.
    — Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Consult with your doctor to figure out which tests or preventative measures are best for you.
    — Sam Manzella, Flow Space, 2 Sep. 2025
  • That's where a lot of criticism comes for preventative testing.
    — David Oliver, USA Today, 11 Feb. 2026
  • When trust is low preventative care declines and people delay or avoid treatment.
    — Dr. Howard A. Selinger, Hartford Courant, 31 Mar. 2026
  • However, it is best used as a preventative or maintenance measure to keep odors and buildup at bay.
    — Jolie Kerr, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 May 2026
  • Over time this will worsen outcomes for chronic illness and preventative care.
    — Dr. Howard A. Selinger, Hartford Courant, 31 Mar. 2026
  • His approach was to show that child passenger safety seats were a form of preventative healthcare.
    — Time, 5 Aug. 2025
  • And when women from shelters do try to get preventative care, they're often faced with a variety of challenges.
    — Vanessa Romo, NPR, 14 Jan. 2026
  • For the medical field, the next battle is for more widespread uptake of both types of preventative measures.
    — Mark Kreidler, Scientific American, 23 Sep. 2025
  • In-house services range from primary to preventative care, dentistry, soft tissue surgery and more.
    — Samantha Gowen, Oc Register, 23 Feb. 2026
  • Most insurance plans cover basic preventative care and screenings—up to a point.
    — Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 8 Oct. 2025
  • What may appear an extreme response could also prove preventative.
    — Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN Money, 31 Jan. 2026
  • At the same time, preventative health has become something of a status symbol among consumers more broadly.
    — Amy O’Brien, Vogue, 18 Nov. 2025
  • This can also be used regularly as a preventative measure in the spring and summer.
    — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Think of preventative maintenance as a safety net for your biggest asset.
    — Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Nov. 2025
  • But the district does take preventative measures for campuses in the event of inclement weather.
    — Brooke Muckerman, Memphis Commercial Appeal, 21 Jan. 2026
  • Common issues like ice dams, leaks, and clogs can all be avoided with preventative gutter maintenance.
    — Kamron Sanders, Better Homes & Gardens, 13 Jan. 2026
  • Beauvais hopes that using her platform spreads more awareness among Black women to seek preventative care.
    — Giana Levy, Variety, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Even with education and preventative measures, older adults—like all people—still can be duped.
    — Suzi Morales, Parents, 25 Sep. 2025
  • In many cases, the cost of dealing with a massive infestation can be higher than the yearly cost of a preventative plan.
    — Kody Boye, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 May 2026
  • Along with steroids, Deklan has taken preventative heart medication for years.
    — Beth Warren, The Tennessean, 10 Aug. 2025
  • Children who might have led fairly normal lives with the right preventative interventions end up needing more drastic care.
    — Mehmet Oz, STAT, 24 Mar. 2026
  • By this logic, emergency rooms are sunk costs and preventative care is a frivolous indulgence.
    — Andrew Behar, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2026
  • People without insurance are less likely to get preventative care.
    — Addie Costello, jsonline.com, 12 Dec. 2025
  • Plus, many plans cover preventative care, such as yearly physicals, at no cost, before hitting the deductible.
    — Kate Dore, Cfp®, Ea, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2025
  • Those same preventative measures have benefits beyond the heart, Khan pointed out.
    — Dr. Richard Zhang, ABC News, 21 Jan. 2026
  • Three other recipients were given preventative treatment and have so far shown no symptoms, the report said.
    — Paula Wethington, CBS News, 11 Dec. 2025
  • Instead, the company argues that proactive, preventative healthcare ought to be available to all.
    — Charles Taylor, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026

preventative

2 of 2 noun
  • Tick preventatives and quick removal of ticks is the best way to avoid problems.
    — Dr. John De Jong, Boston Herald, 14 Apr. 2024
  • The surgery is done as a preventative to keep the aneurysm from rupturing.
    — J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 14 Oct. 2025
  • The fight to find a cure or preventative for cancer has been ongoing for decades.
    — Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 9 Aug. 2022
  • Ferrets can also get heartworms and need to be on a monthly preventative for life.
    — Traci Howerton, NOLA.com, 27 Jan. 2021
  • Save your pet the trouble by refilling their flea, tick and heartworm preventative now.
    — Amy Deyoung, USA Today, 9 June 2026
  • The best preventative to keep weed seeds from sprouting in the garden and around trees and shrubs is to keep the soil covered with a layer of mulch.
    — Beth Botts, chicagotribune.com, 28 Mar. 2021
  • These should be sprayed each year as a preventative in late October and again 30 days later.
    — Tom MacCubbin, orlandosentinel.com, 6 Mar. 2021
  • Masks, while not required, can be a helpful preventative, as can staying 6 feet away from someone with symptoms.
    — Keri Brenner, The Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2024
  • It’s also used on building site soil as a preventative before construction.
    — Joan Morris, The Mercury News, 20 May 2024
  • Some doctors also prescribe antivirals as a preventative for people who are at high risk for the virus if they are exposed.
    — Nathaniel Weixel, The Hill, 30 Dec. 2025
  • Consider using flea and tick preventatives and examine your dog after your hike.
    — Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025
  • The broader focus of criminal justice was on the punitive, not the preventative.
    — Francine Uenuma, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Sep. 2022
  • As those numbers increase, so, too, will the public’s desire for an effective preventative.
    — Sue Halpern, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2021
  • The only preventative right now is treating healthy ash trees with systemic insecticides.
    — Steve Bender, Southern Living, 9 Aug. 2025
  • Hygiene measures, like hand washing and staying home when sick, can go a long way as a preventative, as does getting vaccinated.
    — Dallas News, 4 Jan. 2023
  • Start slow Before heading into the great outdoors, make sure your cat is up to date on vaccinations and flea-and-tick preventatives.
    — Colleen Grablick, Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2024
  • Evans called those measures reactive instead of preventative.
    — Rachel Wegner, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
  • This includes enough food, water, prescription medications, and heartworm and flea/tick preventatives to last at least five days.
    — Alexis Simmerman, Austin American Statesman, 16 Dec. 2025
  • The latter two often need different treatment than what is found in combination preventatives.
    — Dr. John De Jong, Boston Herald, 18 Jan. 2026
  • Also, be sure to budget for health care maintenance items like preventatives for heartworms, intestinal parasites, fleas and ticks.
    — Laurie Larsh, Charlotte Observer, 30 Jan. 2024
  • Each animal receives a first round of vaccinations, a flea/tick preventative, dewormer and a microchip registered to the new adopter.
    — Emily Deletter, The Enquirer, 4 Feb. 2023
  • Clayful partners with schools to provide preventative, pre-clinical mental health coaching to students.
    — Afdhel Aziz, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
  • The bottom line Cleaning your pet’s belongings, grooming them and refilling their preventatives will help keep them safe during the summer.
    — Amy Deyoung, USA Today, 9 June 2026
  • Abracadabra is ancient medicine, the people's preventative passed on for centuries to ward off unknowable and invisible disease.
    — Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 27 Jan. 2015
  • Lastly, the rise of preventative and longevity treatments with GLP-1 and peptides.
    — Kanika Talwar, Footwear News, 22 May 2026
  • A lot of people are baffled at this behavior—at balking at something so basic, a disease transmission preventative that has such a low barrier to access.
    — Emily Willingham, Scientific American, 29 June 2020
  • Regularly use flea and tick preventatives recommended by your veterinarian to keep these pesky critters at bay.
    — Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 6 Aug. 2023
  • By incorporating this approach, healthcare can shift from reactive to preventative.
    — Karlo Tanjuakio, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2025
  • Now, experts say what’s needed to get the fight back on track—and eventually end the threat for good—isn’t just better diagnostics and therapeutics, but long acting preventatives.
    — Jennifer Lotito, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025
  • Though it is touted as a potential preventative and/or cure for dementia, there is no conclusive evidence to these ends, as the NIH notes.
    — Jes Skolnik, Allure, 23 Sep. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'preventative.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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