I have tended to use "preventive" because there is no verb "to preventate", but I had to ask Merriam-Webster which is correct:
The shorter word, preventive, has meanings such as "something that prevents," when used as a noun, and "devoted to or concerned with prevention," when used as an adjective. Preventative means the same thing.Of the two, preventive is slightly older, appearing in English at the beginning of the 17th century."So Philip of Macedon, and Atis the sonne of Croesus, found a chariot in a swords hilt, and an Iron poynted weapon at the hunting of a Bore, to delude their preuentiue wearinesse."— Richard Carew, The Survey of Cornwall, 1602However, preventative is no Johnny-come-lately, showing definite use for over 350 years now."Here follows the preventative: take a poor man, and settle him in a comfortable situation, making him pay (or secure) a reasonable valuation...."— Christopher Love, The Strange and Wonderful Predictions of Mr. Christopher Love, 1651It is not uncommon to find both of them used interchangeably by a single author within the same work... But the English language is not only rich with variation; it is rich as well with strife, and people who like to tell you that the thing you're doing is a bad thing to do... This was followed by another hundred years of language guides claiming that one of these words was proper and one was not.
I like their conclusion: "The question of which one you should choose depends much on your appetite for nit-pickery."
The "at" syllable also appears in orientated versus oriented. I have to say I prefer the shorter form but in the end, what matters is that the meaning is conveyed.
ReplyDeletePicking those words up from context, which is where I get most of my vocabulary, I though "preventive" was an adjective, like preventive medicine, and "preventative" was a noun, like a medicine to prevent something.
ReplyDeleteWorking in a regulated industry where we have CAPAs (Corrective And Preventive Actions) I've heard it both ways as well and, like you, finally looked them both up to see if there was a difference. For what it's worth, both the FDA and ISO orgs use "preventive" in their regulations and standards.
ReplyDelete