Prophylactic

//pɹɒfəˈlæktɪk// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A medicine which preserves or defends against disease; a preventive.
  2. 2
    contraceptive device consisting of a sheath of thin rubber or latex that is worn over the penis during intercourse wordnet
  3. 3
    A medicine which preserves or defends against disease; a preventive.; A prophylactic condom. US, specifically

    "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)."

  4. 4
    remedy that prevents or slows the course of an illness or disease wordnet
  5. 5
    Any device or mechanism intended to prevent harmful consequences. figuratively

    "The securities laws are a prophylactic against stock fraud."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Serving to prevent or protect against an undesired effect, especially disease or pregnancy
Adjective
  1. 1
    preventing or contributing to the prevention of disease wordnet
  2. 2
    warding off wordnet
  3. 3
    capable of preventing conception or impregnation wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
preventativepreventiveprotectivecondomcondomcontraceptive

Example

More examples

"In some cases, mastectomy is prophylactic surgery - a preventive measure taken by those considered to be at high risk of breast cancer."

Etymology

From Latin prophylacticus, from Ancient Greek προφυλακτικός (prophulaktikós, “prophylactic”).

Related phrases

prophylactic rule

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