Synonyms for prophylactic

Grammar : Adj

Spell : proh-fuh-lak-tik, prof-uh-

Phonetic Transcription : ˌproʊ fəˈlæk tɪk, ˌprɒf ə-

Définition of prophylactic

Origin : 1570s, originally of medicines, "that tends to prevent disease," from Middle French prophylactique (16c.) and directly as a Latinized borrowing of Greek prophylaktikos "precautionary," from prophylassein "keep guard before, ward off, be on one's guard," from pro- "before" (see pro-) + phylassein, Ionic variant of phylattein "to watch over, to guard," but also "cherish, keep, remain in, preserve" (see phylactery).
The noun is first recorded 1640s, "a medicine or treatment to prevent disease;" meaning "condom" is from 1943, replacing earlier preventive (1822), preventative (1901). Condoms originally were used more to thwart contagious disease than to prevent pregnancy.

adj protective

Example sentences :

I find that as a prophylactic a little brandy is almost a necessity in this climate.
Extract from : « Cabbages and Kings » by O. Henry

And he stayed two or three hours; and he used no prophylactic.
Extract from : « Woman » by William J. Robinson

It is not only an antidote, but one of those antidotes which taken in time is prophylactic.
Extract from : « Lux Mundi » by Various

Cold infusion of tar was used in our colonies as a prophylactic against the Small Pox.
Extract from : « Epidemics Examined and Explained: or, Living Germs Proved by Analogy to be a Source of Disease » by John Grove

Certain physicians employed a prophylactic remedy made up of very many substances.
Extract from : « Catholic Churchmen in Science » by James J. Walsh

Its prophylactic or preventive tendencies are much more valuable.
Extract from : « Forty Years in the Wilderness of Pills and Powders » by William A. Alcott

As a prophylactic measure against infection the avoidance of too intimate association with dogs is especially to be recommended.
Extract from : « A System of Practical Medicine By American Authors, Vol. II » by Various

This was not done as a means of rendering the examination easier, but as a prophylactic measure.
Extract from : « A Treatise on Gunshot Wounds » by Thomas Longmore

We have improved upon nature;—and our artifice has been prophylactic by virtue of being in a certain sense developmental.
Extract from : « Human Personality and its Survival of Bodily Death » by Frederick W. H. Myers

According to Hahnemann, Koreff, and Randhahn, belladonna is a prophylactic against scarlet fever.
Extract from : « Cooley's Practical Receipts, Volume II » by Arnold Cooley

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Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019