ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Prophylactic

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /pɹɒfəˈlæktɪk/ · Part of speech noun

Quick meaning: Prophylactic is a noun meaning A medicine which preserves or defends against disease; a preventive.

Meaning

A medicine which preserves or defends against disease; a preventive.

More Meanings

  1. (figuratively) Any device or mechanism intended to prevent harmful consequences.
  2. Serving to prevent or protect against an undesired effect, especially disease or pregnancy.

Example Sentences

The securities laws are a prophylactic against stock fraud.
Since tere are increasingly powerful anti-free speech tendencies in the left in general and in the Lesbian and Gay movements in particular in the form of the antiporn movement and other tendencies, I will quote extensively from the second chapter of On Liberty, "On The Liberty Of Thought And Discussion," as a valuable and much needed prophylactic to these trends.

Word Forms

Synonyms for prophylactic

Depending on context, synonyms include preventative, safety, preventive, protective, cautionary, rubber.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include contraceptive, antifertility, condom, rubber, protective, preventive.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.