forestall
7 synonyms for forestall, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Verb — To stop something from happening by acting early to get in its way.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Etymology
Came into English via Middle English forestallen (“to forestall, intercept, ambush, way-lay”), from forestalle (“a forestalling, interception”), which developed from Old English foresteall (“intervention, hindrance of justice, ambush”), from fore- (“ahead of, before”) and steall (“position”); it can also be analysed as...
Full origin of forestall →