Meaning & use
prophylactic
A device or medicine used to prevent disease, especially a condom used to prevent pregnancy or infection.
See it in a sentence
The clinic distributed free prophylactics as part of its public health campaign.
Doctors prescribed a prophylactic to reduce the patient's risk of infection after surgery.
A note on using this word
Prophylactic can be a noun for the preventive item itself or an adjective describing anything meant to prevent illness.
Words with a similar meaning
preventivecondom
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Another way to use it
2. adjective
Intended to prevent disease or a particular unwanted outcome.
She took a low dose of the medication as a prophylactic measure before traveling to the region.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “prophylactic”, then compare your use with the examples above.
Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.