Meaning & use
preservative
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A substance added to food, drink, or other products to stop them from going bad.
Grammar: Countable: one additive is a preservative, several are preservatives.
Patterns
- a preservative in something
- contain preservatives
- add a preservative to something
This bread has no preservatives, so it goes stale quickly.
Salt has been used as a preservative for thousands of years.
Some people check labels carefully to avoid artificial preservatives.
adjectivebefore a nountechnical
Used to describe a substance that keeps something from decaying or spoiling.
Grammar: Comes before a noun and is not usually gradable: preservative chemicals, not very preservative.
Patterns
- preservative properties
- a preservative effect
- preservative chemicals
The wood was treated with preservative chemicals.
Sugar has a preservative effect in jams and syrups.
Word forms
| plural | preservatives |
|---|
Common combinations
- contain preservatives
- Many packaged snacks contain preservatives to extend their shelf life.
- artificial preservatives
- The label says the juice has no artificial preservatives.
- a natural preservative
- Lemon juice works as a natural preservative in some sauces.
- add a preservative
- Manufacturers add a preservative to keep the lotion fresh.
- free from preservatives
- This brand claims to be free from preservatives.
Synonyms and how they differ
- additive
- Broader: an additive is anything added to food, while a preservative is added specifically to stop spoiling.
- stabilizer
- A stabilizer keeps texture or mixture steady; it may not prevent decay the way a preservative does.
Word family
- preserve verb
- To keep something in good condition or stop it from decaying.
- preservation noun
- The act of keeping something safe from decay or damage.
- preserved adjective
- Treated so that it does not decay, as in preserved fruit.
Commonly confused: preservative or preservative?
preservative vs preservative
As a noun it is the substance; the adjective preserving describes the action of keeping something, as in preserving jars.
Practice
Choose the best sentence.
Choose one answer.
The countable noun for the added substance is preservative, so the plural preservatives is correct. Preservation means the act of protecting something, preserve is a verb or a type of jam, and preserving is not used as a noun for additives.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “preservative”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.