as in to prevent
to keep from happening by taking action in advance
you can often forestall skidding on the ice simply by driving more slowly
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Recent Examples of forestall
Under the international climate accord, first negotiated in 2015, countries around the world agreed to cut greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to limit global warming and forestall the worst impacts of climate change.
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Rachel Waldholz, NPR, 21 Jan. 2025
Perhaps more damning, the film features interviews with a number of observers who maintain Netanyahu has extended the war in Gaza for over a year and invaded Lebanon to forestall a prosecution that threatens his political career.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 15 Jan. 2025
Jokes are safer, forestalling opinion—and thereby contention—by forgoing one.
—Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2025
The policy hasn't forestalled the decline in births in Hungary, with the total fertility rate dropping from 1.50 to 1.35 since the policy went into effect.
—Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 6 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for forestall
Rachel Waldholz, NPR, 21 Jan. 2025
Perhaps more damning, the film features interviews with a number of observers who maintain Netanyahu has extended the war in Gaza for over a year and invaded Lebanon to forestall a prosecution that threatens his political career.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 15 Jan. 2025
Jokes are safer, forestalling opinion—and thereby contention—by forgoing one.
—Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2025
The policy hasn't forestalled the decline in births in Hungary, with the total fertility rate dropping from 1.50 to 1.35 since the policy went into effect.
—Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 6 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for forestall
Cite this Entry
“Forestall.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forestall. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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