How to Use prophylactic in a Sentence

prophylactic

1 of 2 adjective
  • The plan may be flawed, but making one is a kind of prophylactic.
    — Jan Steyn, The Dial, 10 Mar. 2026
  • Of course, the tires are loud and prophylactic-thin, so the ride can be only so smooth.
    — Dan Neil, WSJ, 13 July 2017
  • Records from the home said the cocktail was given for prophylactic use.
    — Washington Post, 7 July 2020
  • But there is sharp disagreement over the prophylactic scope of the measure.
    — Warren Richey, The Christian Science Monitor, 23 Mar. 2018
  • All of the Alabama linemen take part in what is known as prophylactic bracing.
    — Sam Borden, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2017
  • Given that, up to half decide to have prophylactic mastectomies, and many have ovaries removed, too.
    — Jocelyn Kaiser, Science | AAAS, 17 Dec. 2019
  • Johnston thinks the investigators will have some idea whether the prophylactic is working in a year or two.
    — Keridwen Cornelius, Scientific American, 7 June 2018
  • They are prohibited from selling the drugs for prophylactic use for the coronavirus.
    — USA TODAY, 23 Mar. 2020
  • Since the start of the pandemic, both prophylactic and postexposure measures have been rife with fraud.
    — Hannah Zeavin, Harper’s Magazine , 22 June 2022
  • Some people may also choose to proceed with breast tissue removal, with a surgery called a prophylactic mastectomy.
    — Amy Comander Md, Anchorage Daily News, 8 May 2023
  • When poor owners cannot afford to fix their homes, the government should help as a prophylactic to save money on health care and education later.
    — The Economist, 22 Feb. 2018
  • Since these infections are rare, neither screening nor prophylactic treatment is needed.
    — Dr. Keith Roach, oregonlive, 10 Sep. 2021
  • Approximately one in four deaths in this age group were likely prevented with prophylactic use of azithromycin, according to the study.
    — Mark Lieber, CNN, 26 Apr. 2018
  • In that study, researchers are testing the drug as a prophylactic, giving it to residents and staff in high-risk settings as a preventative measure.
    — Emily Woodruff, NOLA.com, 18 Aug. 2020
  • Workers then determined the vaccination status of those exposed and doled out prophylactic treatments or vaccines to those who would take them.
    — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 30 July 2018
  • The Texas legislature meets for only five months every two years—a prophylactic measure designed to prevent the passage of laws.
    — Kashmir Hill, The New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2019
  • By government order, each person arriving in Uganda by boat is now put on a prophylactic course of antibiotics.
    — Max Bearak, Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2018
  • Spontaneous bleeds are rare and prophylactic infusions several times a week have become as routine as brushing your teeth, Rice said.
    — Elizabeth Cooney, STAT, 20 Aug. 2020
  • The first Māori to undergo prophylactic gastrectomies were the family that warned Paringatai’s about the cancer gene.
    — Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 31 Mar. 2026
  • When the flu hits a nursing home, patients are given prophylactic anti-viral medicine; no such prophylaxis exists for the new coronavirus.
    — Matt Richtel, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2020
  • Some experts will consider prophylactic surgery if the woman needs surgery anyway, such as removing the ovaries as well during a hysterectomy for fibroids.
    — Dr. Keith Roach, oregonlive, 9 June 2022
  • India's health ministry quickly approved it as a prophylactic for health care workers and others at high risk of infection, and as a treatment for critically ill patients.
    — Emily Schmall and Aniruddha Ghosal, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 May 2020
  • These include prophylactic vaccines, which prevent cancer, and therapeutic ones, which protect women who have already had breast cancer from getting it again.
    — Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 1 Oct. 2025
  • There are no approved therapeutics or preventive prophylactic measures for the Bundibugyo virus.
    — Alyssa Goldberg, USA Today, 18 May 2026
  • But even Coit, who is among the more skeptical of surgery, recommends prophylactic gastrectomies for people with a strong family history.
    — Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 31 Mar. 2026
  • Part of the problem here is that the HPV vaccine is a prophylactic vaccine to prevent a disease—cervical cancer—that those providers never see.
    — Dina Fine Maron, Scientific American, 6 Sep. 2017
  • Parker then had the opportunity to have a lumpectomy but chose to have a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy in June to remove both breasts.
    — Alvaro Montano, Houston Chronicle, 6 Oct. 2020
  • Through all these efforts, prophylactic protections against HIV are getting much more tailored and personalized.
    — Sara Harrison, WIRED, 30 July 2019
  • Two injections of lenacapavir every six months offer near-perfect protection; older prophylactic treatments require daily pills, a challenge in countries with weak health systems.
    — Preeti Jha, semafor.com, 24 Sep. 2025
  • Options range from frequent screenings to prophylactic surgery (a procedure intended to prevent disease), per the NCI.
    — Korin Miller, Good Housekeeping, 9 Feb. 2021

prophylactic

2 of 2 noun
  • The only reliable prophylactic was to site the city nine miles from the sea.
    — Corey Robin, The New York Review of Books, 1 Dec. 2022
  • Preventive, or prophylactic, removal of the breasts and ovaries reduces the risk a great deal.
    — Peter Bach, Town & Country, 11 Sep. 2013
  • Demand for the prophylactic has been off the charts, resulting in shortages and rationing.
    — Allysia Finley, WSJ, 26 Nov. 2023
  • Arguably the most important prophylactic is to spend more time clarifying what our moral values are and where our red lines are drawn.
    — Julian Baggini, WSJ, 16 Nov. 2022
  • Getting and staying married is not a surefire prophylactic against poverty.
    — Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 23 July 2019
  • Some antidotes can be administered as prophylactics to troops about to go into battle, if there is a risk of nerve agents being employed.
    — Simon Cotton, Scientific American, 9 Mar. 2018
  • May your heat protectants be as effective as your prophylactics — that is, around 98% when used perfectly.
    — Rachel Krause, refinery29.com, 9 Apr. 2024
  • To keep it that way, doctors put Debra on tamoxifen, a hormonal drug used as a prophylactic against certain types of breast cancer.
    — Longreads, 4 Jan. 2024
  • One small prophylactic could be to pass a bill soon to let mail votes be preprocessed a few days before Election Day, as many other states permit.
    — The Editorial Board, WSJ, 18 May 2022
  • It has also been widely promoted as a coronavirus prophylactic and treatment.
    — James Heathers, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2021
  • Or in a sanitized version of blood sacrifice, small silver images of the patient were offered as a prophylactic against illness.
    — Tulasi Srinivas, The Conversation, 15 June 2020
  • They are currently authorized by the FDA to be used post-exposure but not as a prophylactic.
    — Susannah Cullinane, CNN, 25 Oct. 2021
  • Garlic has been regarded as an effective prophylactic against vampires.
    — Seriously Science, Discover Magazine, 21 Nov. 2014
  • Consuming crime as entertainment, then, can feel like a prophylactic against disaster.
    — Kate Knibbs, Wired, 8 Mar. 2022
  • And the benefit-risk [ratio] is very clear versus pre-exposure prophylactics that healthy people will take, say health care workers, to prevent them from acquiring the virus.
    — Ed Silverman, STAT, 24 Apr. 2020
  • That could create a treatment or prophylactic relatively quickly.
    — Matthew Herper, STAT, 5 Mar. 2020
  • When implemented as a mandatory smartphone prophylactic, Yondr becomes a means of control, not of choice, let alone of presence.
    — Marcel O’Gorman, The Atlantic, 2 Feb. 2018
  • Many places in Asia, South America, and Africa require malaria prophylactics.
    — Sandy Bauers, Philly.com, 23 June 2017
  • Education, prophylactics, and drugs like PrEP have cut down its transmission.
    — Nick Stockton, WIRED, 5 May 2017
  • According to one estimate, tens of millions of patients worldwide may have taken ivermectin as either a prophylactic, a treatment, or both over the course of the pandemic.
    — Natalie Shure, The New Republic, 30 Aug. 2021
  • Doctors caution there is no evidence dexamethasone can prevent coronavirus infection, and should not be used as a prophylactic.
    — NBC News, 16 June 2020
  • By a similar token, particular scents were understood to be curative or prophylactic.
    — Scott Sayare Robert Petkoff Anna Diamond Quinton Kamara, New York Times, 14 June 2024
  • Looking to the future, knowing the origins this pandemic provides a mental prophylactic against the looming uncertainty of the unavoidable next one.
    — Marion Renault, The New Republic, 30 Mar. 2021
  • However, if you have been exposed to the flu—especially by someone in your household—many doctors will consider prescribing a prophylactic dose to lower your chance of infection.
    — Angela Haupt, TIME, 28 Jan. 2025
  • Research is indeed mixed as to whether baby aspirin has any benefits as a prophylactic, though there’s a clear benefit for individuals who’ve had a heart attack, stroke, or some other form of heart disease.
    — Sean Evans, Robb Report, 14 Jan. 2024
  • It could also be offered to people who have been exposed to the disease to prevent infection, or used as a daily prophylactic for those at high risk of infection, such as health care workers, first responders, and prison guards.
    — Usha Lee McFarling, STAT, 11 Aug. 2020
  • Surgery to remove the ovaries and fallopian tubes (called prophylactic oophorectomy) can lower the chance of developing ovarian cancer in people with a high genetic risk.
    — Julie Scott, Msn, Anp-Bc, Aocnp, Verywell Health, 14 Mar. 2025
  • Nary an instance of emergency room visits or poison control queries or pediatricians receiving frantic calls from parents whose teens have prophylactics blocking their airways.
    — Heidi Stevens, chicagotribune.com, 2 Apr. 2018
  • The answer, based on conversations with administration officials familiar with the selection process, comes down to tactics and prophylactics.
    — Newsweek, 14 Mar. 2018
  • Their default skeptical stance is a prophylactic against the wiles of wishful thinking, a dare to true believers to provide extraordinary evidence in support of extraordinary claims.
    — Lee Billings, Scientific American, 9 Jan. 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'prophylactic.' 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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