noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The act or condition of occurring earlier, of being antecedent. countable, uncountable
2. 2
   Something done beforehand in anticipation of a later situation. countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms

anticipationbeginningforesightground floorhead startreadiness

Etymology

From Latin praeveniēns (“preceding, coming before”).

Related phrases

prevenient grace

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.