obviate

verb
UK: /ˈɒbvieɪt/
US: /ˈɑːbvieɪt/

  1. To remove a need or difficulty.

    1. We can obviate the problem by adding more staff.
    2. A peaceful solution would obviate the need to send soldiers into the area.

  2. To avoid or prevent something from happening.

    1. New medicine can obviate the illness.
    2. The new traffic system will obviate any traffic jams during rush hour.

Synonyms

prevent counteract avert preclude neutralize remove eliminate
obviate adjective

  1. Made unnecessary.

    1. The surgery made the need for glasses obviate.
    2. The development of new technologies have made many old skills obviate.

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "obviate" in English means: To remove a need or difficulty., To avoid or prevent something from happening..

The phonetic transcription of "obviate" is /ˈɒbvieɪt/ in British English and /ˈɑːbvieɪt/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "obviate": prevent, counteract, avert, preclude, neutralize, remove, eliminate.

Example usage of "obviate": "We can obviate the problem by adding more staff.". More examples on the page.