forestall
for-STAWL
/fɔːrˈstɔːl/
To prevent or obstruct an anticipated event or action by taking defensive action ahead of time.
Emphasizes proactive, preemptive action—doing something now to stop something bad from happening later.
The story behind the word. In Anglo-Saxon England, 'forestall' was a legal term for intercepting goods on their way to a market stall and buying them up privately to sell them later at a higher price. Literally, it meant 'standing before' the market stall to block normal trade.
Word relationships
- preempt: Preempt means to take action in order to prevent an anticipated event from happening, often by doing it first, while forestall focuses purely on blocking or delaying the event.
- prevent: Prevent is a general term for stopping something, while forestall specifically highlights the early, strategic timing of the action.
- provoke: To cause or stimulate an action or reaction.
- encourage: To help or stimulate a process or event to occur.
Commonly confused with
- foretell: Foretell means to predict the future, whereas forestall means to actively prevent a future event.
Word family
- forestallment (noun): The act of forestalling or preventing ahead of time.
- forestaller (noun): One who takes preemptive action to prevent something.
Collocations
- forestall a crisis
- forestall disaster
- forestall criticism
Example sentences
- "The company bought back millions of its own shares to forestall a hostile takeover bid." A financial strategy to prevent a hostile takeover.
Memory hook
Think of standing in 'front' of a 'stall' (fore-stall) to block customers from getting in. Stand before to block.
When not to use
Do not use if the action is taken after the event has already started; use 'stop' or 'intervene' instead.
Fun facts
- In medieval English law, forestalling was a serious crime because it bypassed the public market, cheated the local lord of taxes, and artificially inflated food prices.
Related words
Explore more words
anticipate, precaution, foresee, prophylactic, stall, dissuade
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