prophylactic
/pɹɒfəˈlæktɪk/
prophylactic means serving to prevent or protect against an undesired effect, especially disease or pregnancy. It carries an Arena rating of 1616, earned across 7 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, prophylactic ranks #1,749 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #3,211 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #3,479 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #3,600 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words.
prophylactic is pronounced /pɹɒfəˈlæktɪk/.
Why “prophylactic” is a great word
Serving to prevent or protect against an undesired effect, especially disease or pregnancy; also, a device or medicine used for such prevention. Its lineage traces from Latin prophylacticus, from Ancient Greek προφυλακτικός (prophulaktikós, 'guarding beforehand'), from πρό (pro, 'before') and φυλάσσειν (phylássein, 'to guard'), a word first attested in English in the 1570s with this vigilant air intact. Unlike 'therapeutic,' which seeks to cure an existing malady, or 'preemptive,' which connotes a strategic strike against a looming threat, 'prophylactic' is the quiet, methodical fortification of the body’s borders. It is the bitter tang of quinine in the colonial’s tonic, the taut snap of the rubber glove, and the cool whisper of a foil-wrapped packet—the humble, unheroic faith enacted against a future we dare not name.
Etymology
From Latin prophylacticus, from Ancient Greek προφυλακτικός (prophulaktikós, “prophylactic”).
adj
- Serving to prevent or protect against an undesired effect, especially disease or pregnancy.
noun
- A medicine which preserves or defends against disease; a preventive.
- A medicine which preserves or defends against disease; a preventive.; A prophylactic condom.e.g.“It is not clear whether such education is to be directed to homosexuals (for whom prophylactics are not a contraceptive) or to heterosexuals as well (for whom prophylactics are a contraceptive).” — 1977, Human Life Center, International Review of Natural Family Planning, Human Life Center, St. John's University, page 2:
- Any device or mechanism intended to prevent harmful consequences.e.g.“The securities laws are a prophylactic against stock fraud.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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