{"id":1653,"date":"2015-03-31T00:34:08","date_gmt":"2015-03-31T04:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/?p=1653"},"modified":"2015-03-31T00:47:50","modified_gmt":"2015-03-31T04:47:50","slug":"preventive-vs-preventative-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/preventive-vs-preventative-difference","title":{"rendered":"Preventive vs. Preventative: What\u2019s the Difference?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"bccef0f480416e3e00e77029789ea906\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: right; margin:10px 0 10px 10px;\">\n<script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Beginning of Post Default -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:inline-block;width:336px;height:280px\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6482188744286371\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7571860708\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n\n<\/div>\n<p>If you are a doctor and you specialize in helping your <a href=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/patience-vs-patients-difference\">patients<\/a> maintain a healthy lifestyle in order to prevent disease and disability, are you practicing preventive medicine or preventative medicine? In other words, which of these two options is the correct adjectival and noun form of the word <em>prevent<\/em>?<\/p>\n<p>Today, I want to talk about these two words, both of which have the same meaning, and explain which of them are correct. After reading this post, you\u2019ll have a clear understanding of the preventive vs. preventative debate.<\/p>\n<h2>What is the Difference Between Preventive and Preventative?<\/h2>\n<p><em>Preventive <\/em>and <em>preventative<\/em> both function as <a href=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/grammar-dictionary\/adjective\">adjectives<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/grammar-dictionary\/noun\">nouns<\/a> and refer to things that prevent, hinder, or act as obstacles. For example,<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Have you ever considered preventive healthcare? (adjective)<\/li>\n<li>My health insurance plans offers free preventative visits. (adjective)<\/li>\n<li>As a preventative measure, I brought a raincoat. (adjective)<\/li>\n<li>This is the best wrinkle preventive around. (noun)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-1655 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Preventive.png\" alt=\"how to use Preventive in a sentence\" width=\"342\" height=\"99\" \/><\/em>You\u2019re probably still asking yourself, \u201cOkay, when do I decide which one to use?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The short answer to this question is that both are acceptable formations. But, that\u2019s not all that should be said on the matter.<\/p>\n<h2>When to Use Preventive<\/h2>\n<p>Although both forms are linguistically valid, <em>preventive<\/em> is clearly the preferred choice in popular usage and in formal and professional writing. As the below graph shows, <em>preventive<\/em> is used at rate approximately eight times to that of <em>preventative<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1654\" src=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/all-english.png\" alt=\"preventive versus preventative\" width=\"1202\" height=\"459\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>The New York Times<\/em> prefers <em>preventive<\/em>, as does the <a href=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/ap-style\"><em>AP Stylebook<\/em><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/chicago-style\"><em>The Chicago Manual of Style<\/em><\/a>, and <em>Garner\u2019s Usage Guide<\/em>. You\u2019re much more likely to see the shorter form in print and much less likely to raise an eyebrow when using it.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, the extra syllable created by <em>preventative<\/em> is superfluous and therefore unnecessary, although the longer form is preferred in other similarly formed words like exploitive and exploitative.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also worth noting that this is not simply a North American preference. Across geographical boundaries, the shorter form <em>preventive <\/em>is preferred, whether it\u2019s in American, British, or Australian English.<\/p>\n<p>The below graphs show that in American and British English, respectively, <em>preventive<\/em> is the preferred choice.<\/p>\n<p><strong><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1656 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/american.png\" alt=\"is preventative a word\" width=\"1191\" height=\"447\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1657 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/British.png\" alt=\"preventative or preventive usage in Britain\" width=\"1178\" height=\"434\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Given the severe preference for the shorter form, I advise you to use <em>preventive<\/em> over <em>preventative<\/em>, even though there isn\u2019t anything necessarily wrong with the longer form.<\/p>\n<h2>When to Use Preventative<\/h2>\n<p>As I outlined above, there are a number of reasons to favor the shortened version over the elongated <em>preventative<\/em>, and I can\u2019t really think of any benefits that would arise from using the longer word, so I advise against using it.<\/p>\n<p>Unless it adds a specific rhythm to your prose that cannot be accomplished using the shorter form, there really is no need to use the longer form. <em>Garner\u2019s Modern American Usage<\/em> calls <em>preventative<\/em> unfortunate and unnecessary.<\/p>\n<h2>Which Word Came First?<\/h2>\n<p>Both words entered English during the 17th century and have been fighting it out ever since. The shorter form <em>preventive<\/em> predates the longer <em>preventative<\/em> by just a few decades.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Summary<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>While both words are acceptable formations, there is a strong preference among English users for the shortened form. However, this doesn\u2019t translate into a rule of always favoring the shorter word. Similarly formed words must be inspected on a case-by-case basis.<\/p>\n<p>But as for preventative vs. preventive, it\u2019s best to use the shorter of the two.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you are a doctor and you specialize in helping your patients maintain a healthy lifestyle in order to prevent disease and disability, are you practicing preventive medicine or preventative medicine? In other words, which of these two options is the correct adjectival and noun form of the word prevent? Today, I want to talk &#8230; <a title=\"Preventive vs. Preventative: What\u2019s the Difference?\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/preventive-vs-preventative-difference\" aria-label=\"Read more about Preventive vs. Preventative: What\u2019s the Difference?\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_aToxMjE2OTc5NDg2Ow==_1216979486":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Preventive vs. Preventative: What\u2019s the Difference? - Writing Explained<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn the definition of preventative and preventive with example sentences and quizzes at Writing Explained.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/preventive-vs-preventative-difference\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Preventive vs. Preventative: What\u2019s the Difference? - Writing Explained\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn the definition of preventative and preventive with example sentences and quizzes at Writing Explained.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/preventive-vs-preventative-difference\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Writing Explained\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WritingExplained\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-03-31T04:34:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-03-31T04:47:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Preventive.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/preventive-vs-preventative-difference#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/preventive-vs-preventative-difference\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/#\/schema\/person\/82785176f927165d5b88cbe6f80d7bc1\"},\"headline\":\"Preventive vs. Preventative: What\u2019s the Difference?\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-03-31T04:34:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-03-31T04:47:50+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/preventive-vs-preventative-difference\"},\"wordCount\":563,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/preventive-vs-preventative-difference#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Preventive.png\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/preventive-vs-preventative-difference\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/preventive-vs-preventative-difference\",\"name\":\"Preventive vs. Preventative: What\u2019s the Difference? 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