Prevent
Prevent verb - To keep from happening by taking action in advance.
Usage example: a lot of problems would have been prevented if we'd just prepared better
Thwart is a synonym for prevent in hinder topic. In some cases you can use "Thwart" instead a verb "Prevent", when it comes to topics like block, obstruction, stop, inhibit. popular alternative
Thwart
Thwart verb - To prevent from achieving a goal.
Usage example: a coalition of grassroots organizations thwarted the company's efforts to get approval for a new power plant
Prevent is a synonym for thwart in stop topic. You can use "Prevent" instead a verb "Thwart", if it concerns topics such as block, obstruction, inhibit, hinder. popular alternative
Mutual synonyms
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
- If the characters are trying to prevent a historical war, there can be overlap with You Can't Fight Fate and You Can't Thwart Stage One (unless it's an Alternate History).
Source: Prevent the War -
Inverted in the Megamorphs book Elfangor's Secret, where the heroes thwart stage one by saving Henry V at Agincourt but fail to prevent Visser 4 from killing George Washington and Admiral Nelson.
Source: You Can't Thwart Stage One -
You Can't Thwart Stage One: No matter what you do, how fast you get there, or how many Mask pieces you've collected, you can never stop Carlos' ritual, nor you can prevent El Presidente's Daughter's death.
Source: Video Game / Guacamelee!
Cite this Source
Thwart and Prevent. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/prevent/thwart
Prevent & Thwart. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/prevent/thwart>.
Thwart or Prevent. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/prevent/thwart.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "prevent" and "thwart" have occurred on timeline