preclude
Definitions
To prevent something from happening; to make it impossible in advance.
（预先）排除，阻止，使不可能。
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedpre- (beforehand) + clude (shut) = 'shut the door in advance.' You close off a possibility before it can ever arise, so it simply can't happen. The 'beforehand' element is what makes preclude stronger than prevent: the option was never even on the table.
Root clud still carries 24 more wordsWhy It Means This
Preclude is often confused with prevent, but the pre- makes the difference. Prevent stops something that was on its way; preclude shuts the door so early that the thing never even becomes possible. A clause in a contract might preclude future claims — it doesn't fight them off as they arise, it makes them impossible from the start. Note also the formal register: preclude lives in legal, academic, and official writing, rarely in casual speech.
Common Collocations
- 1.preclude the possibility排除可能性
- 2.preclude someone from使某人无法……
- 3.preclude any chance断绝任何机会
Example Sentences
- 1.
His injury precluded him from playing in the final.
- 2.
The new rules preclude any possibility of appeal.
- 3.
Signing the contract does not preclude further negotiation.
Easily Confused
preclude vs prevent — prevent stops something already in motion (prevent an accident); preclude shuts a possibility off in advance so it can never even start (the rule precludes appeals). Use preclude when the thing becomes structurally impossible, not merely blocked.