obviate

Definition

To anticipate and prevent or bypass (something which would otherwise have been necessary or required); to render (something) unnecessary.

Etymology

First attested in 1567; borrowed from Latin obviātus, perfect passive participle of obviō (“to block, to hinder”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

Example Sentences

• "[…] and in the kindest manner she now urged Fanny’s taking one for the cross and to keep for her sake, saying everything she could think of to obviate the scruples which were making Fanny start back at first with a look of horror at the proposal."
• "The door it was necessary to keep ajar in hers, as in most cottages, because of the smoke; but she obviated the effect of the ribbon of light through the chink by hanging a cloth over that also."
• "A mild dose of a warm active aperient to obviate costiveness, or to produce two motions daily, is generally very beneficial."

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