Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To make impossible, as by action taken in advance; prevent. synonym: prevent.
- transitive verb To exclude or prevent (someone) from a given condition or activity.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To close; stop up; shut; prevent access to.
- To shut out; hinder by excluding; prevent; impede.
- To prevent by anticipative action; render in-effectual or unsuccessful; hinder the action of.
- Synonyms To prevent, bar, debar, prohibit.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To put a barrier before; hence, to shut out; to hinder; to stop; to impede.
- transitive verb To shut out by anticipative action; to prevent or hinder by necessary consequence or implication; to deter action of, access to, employment of, etc.; to render ineffectual; to obviate by anticipation.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive Remove the possibility of;
rule out ; prevent or exclude; to makeimpossible .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb make impossible, especially beforehand
- verb keep from happening or arising; make impossible
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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And yet this device's size, weight and inability to make phone calls preclude it from replacing a smartphone.
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And yet this device's size, weight and inability to make phone calls preclude it from replacing a smartphone.
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That would kind of preclude charging them interest, too … stevie314159 says:
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The bizarre logic behind this idea is that the facts of evolution do not "preclude" the existence of god.
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Mr. Schurz made an inquiry of Mr. Howe as to the grounds upon which the senator was to be deposed; and the answer was that "the personal relations between the senator from Massachusetts and the President of the United States and the head of the State Department are such as preclude all social intercourse between them."
Twenty Years of Congress, Volume 2 (of 2) From Lincoln to Garfield, with a Review of the Events Which Led to the Political Revolution of 1860 James Gillespie Blaine 1861
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For example, a student uses "preclude" instead of "precede" when talking about one event coming before another.
WN.com - Articles related to Parenting: Child can get ready for an eye patch 2010
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For example, a student uses "preclude" instead of "precede" when talking about one event coming before another.
WN.com - Articles related to Parenting: Child can get ready for an eye patch 2010
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For example, a student uses "preclude" instead of "precede" when talking about one event coming before another.
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Gates said he did not want to "preclude" the discussion and it will be up to the incoming commandant, Gen. James Amos, if confirmed by the Senate, to undertake that "intellectual effort."
Stars and Stripes 2010
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For example, a student uses "preclude" instead of "precede" when talking about one event coming before another.
WN.com - Articles related to Parenting: Child can get ready for an eye patch 2010
kingparton commented on the word preclude
In our times, the increasing complexity of our civilization would seem to preclude any serious thought of recapturing the harmony possible only in an age of grace and simplicity.
José Enrique Rodó, Ariel
October 30, 2011
mohitanand commented on the word preclude
keep from happening or arising; make impossible
The manager specified that all other gates be locked, to preclude the possibility of persons without tickets entering the arena undetected.
October 12, 2016
shanvrolijk commented on the word preclude
Poor weather precluding my morning outing, we yarned by the peat fire
& the hours sped by like minutes.
January 29, 2018