obviate
verb
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It's most often needs that get obviated. And a need that's obviated is a need that's been anticipated and prevented. That sentence may obviate your need to consult the definition again, for example. Obviate comes ultimately from the Latin adjective obviam, meaning "in the way," and obviating does often involve figuratively putting something in the way, as when an explanatory sentence placed just so blocks a need to consult a definition. (Obviam is also an ancestor of our adjective obvious.) Obviate has a number of synonyms in English, including prevent, preclude, and avert, which all can mean "to hinder or stop something." Preclude often implies that a degree of chance was involved in stopping an event, while avert always implies that a bad situation has been anticipated and prevented or deflected by the application of immediate and effective means. Obviate generally suggests the use of intelligence or forethought to ward off trouble.
Examples of obviate in a Sentence
Tanvi Madan, Foreign Affairs, 24 Sep. 2025
But the letters don’t obviate the need for committee meetings, said Peter Lurie, a former associate FDA commissioner who heads the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
—Arthur Allen, CNN Money, 12 Sep. 2025
But opponents say joining a regional grid could obviate California’s autonomy regarding its clean energy goals and link the Golden State with states that burn coal.
—Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Sep. 2025
These workstations, as well as increasingly powerful desktop computers from IBM and Apple, obviated the need for specialized LISP machines.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for obviate
Cite this Entry
“Obviate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obviate. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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obviate
verb
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