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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

prophylaxis.

The prevention of, or the protective treatment for, disease.

11 characters4 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/pɹɔfɪˈlæksɪs/
  1. The prevention of, or the protective treatment for, disease.

    countable · uncountable
    The role of statins in prophylaxis for cardiovascular disease is well supported by the medical literature.
  2. The prevention of, or the protective treatment for, disease. The cleaning of a patient's teeth.

    countable · sometimes · specifically · uncountable
    We did his semiannual prophylaxis today, and his teeth and gums were found to be healthy.
  3. The prevention of, or the protective treatment for, disease. Protective measures against acquiring a sexually transmitted disease.

    countable · sometimes · specifically · uncountable
  4. Action that works to prevent some bad outcome.

    broadly · countable · uncountable
    The central bankers viewed these moves as prophylaxis against inflation.
  5. Action that works to prevent some bad outcome. A move or strategy that frustrates an opponent's plan or tactic.

    broadly · countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From Latin, from Ancient Greek πρό (pró, “before”) + φύλαξις (phúlaxis, “a watching, guarding”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.