Definition

1. Verb:
   • To act in advance of; to deal with ahead of time: To take action before an anticipated event or action by someone else, in order to prevent it or gain an advantage.
   • To keep from happening or arising; to make impossible: To prevent something from occurring by taking preemptive measures.

Usage and Examples

• Verb (Act in advance):

  • The government's swift action helped to forestall a major economic crisis.
  • She tried to forestall any criticism by announcing the changes early.

• Verb (Prevent from happening):

  • Regular maintenance can forestall major repairs.
  • The treaty was designed to forestall future conflicts between the nations.

Advanced Usage and Nuances

• Strategic Preemption: Often used in contexts of strategy, business, or diplomacy, where one party acts to neutralize a potential move by another.
  • The company lowered prices to forestall competition from new market entrants.
• Anticipatory Problem-Solving: Implies not just prevention, but thoughtful anticipation and early intervention.
  • By installing a backup generator, they forestalled any disruption during the power outage.

Variants and Related Words

• Forestaller (noun): A person who forestalls.
• Forestalling (noun/gerund): The act of forestalling.
  • The forestalling of the attack saved countless lives.

Synonyms

• Preempt: To take action to prevent an event or to secure an advantage by acting first.
• Anticipate: To act as a precursor to; to foresee and deal with in advance.
• Prevent: To stop something from happening.
• Avert: To turn away or prevent something undesirable.
• Obviate: To remove a need or difficulty, often making something unnecessary.

Related Phrases and Idioms

• "To forestall a question": To answer a question before it is asked.
  • Let me forestall your question by explaining the budget first.
• "To forestall disaster": To take action to prevent a catastrophic event.
  • The evacuation order was meant to forestall disaster.

Notes on Meaning

• The historical meaning related to "buying up goods to profit from resale" (engrossing) is now archaic but informs the modern sense of acting before others to secure an advantage.
• The word carries a connotation of cleverness or strategic thinking, not merely passive prevention. It involves proactive initiative.

Verb

1. act in advance of; deal with ahead of time
2. keep from happening or arising; make impossible
   • My sense of tact forbids an honest answer
   • Your role in the projects precludes your involvement in the competitive project