obviate

American  

[ob-vee-eyt] / ˈɒb viˌeɪt /

verb (used with object)

obviated, obviating

1. to anticipate and prevent or eliminate (difficulties, disadvantages, etc.) by effective measures; render unnecessary.

   to obviate the risk of serious injury.

   Synonyms:

   anticipate, avert, preclude

---

obviate British  

/ ˈɒbvɪˌeɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to avoid or prevent (a need or difficulty)

---

Usage

Only things that have not yet occurred can be obviated. For example, one can obviate a possible future difficulty, but not one that already exists

Other Word Forms

• obviable adjective
• obviation noun
• obviator noun
• preobviate verb (used with object)
• unobviable adjective
• unobviated adjective

Etymology

Origin of obviate

1590–1600; from Latin obviātus, past participle of obviāre “to act contrary to,” derivative of obvius; obvious, -ate ¹

Example Sentences

As Bessent should understand, the violation of one logical condition can obviate the logic of another—what a logician might call an “antecedent condition.”

From Barron's

As Bessent should understand, the violation of one logical condition can obviate the logic of another—what a logician might call an “antecedent condition.”

From Barron's

Strategy already set aside a $1.4 billion reserve for dividend and interest payments over the next two years to obviate the need to sell bitcoins in the near future.

From MarketWatch

Railway lines, trucks, plastic products, electronic communication—all have tended both to obviate the need for manual dexterity and to chip away at people’s pride in self-sufficiency.

From The Wall Street Journal

The longer the scene, the more likely it was mostly concocted inside a computer, obviating multiple takes, camera angles and union personnel waiting around to engage in spurts of frenzied action.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• counteract
• forestall
• preclude