forfend

/fɔ:'fend/

Thân thiện

The security guard's quick action helped forfend a potential accident.

Definition

1. Verb:
   • To prevent or avert something undesirable from happening: To take action to stop something harmful, dangerous, or unwanted from occurring. It often implies a proactive or defensive effort to ward off a threat.

Usage

• forfend is a formal and somewhat archaic verb. It is most commonly used in the phrase "Heaven forfend!" (or "God forfend!") as an exclamation expressing a strong wish that something should not happen.
• In modern usage outside of this fixed phrase, it is rare and typically found in literary or very formal contexts.

Examples

• Verb:
  • The new security measures are designed to forfend any future attacks on the system.
  • "Heaven forfend that we should ever have to face such a tragedy again," she whispered.
  • The treaty was signed to forfend the possibility of war between the two nations.

Advanced Usage

• "Heaven/God forfend (that)...": A fixed exclamatory phrase used to express a hope that something will not happen, often because it is considered terrible or unthinkable.
  • God forfend that our flight is canceled; we have a crucial meeting tomorrow.
  • Heaven forfend I should ever have to ask him for help.

Variants and Related Words

• Forfended (verb, past tense/past participle): The action of having prevented something.
  • The disaster was forfended by the quick thinking of the crew.
• Forfending (verb, present participle/gerund): The act of preventing.
  • The forfending of conflict is the primary goal of diplomacy.

Synonyms

• Avert: To turn away or prevent.
• Prevent: To stop something from happening.
• Obviate: To remove or avoid a need or difficulty.
• Ward off: To prevent something harmful from affecting you.
• Stave off: To delay or prevent something bad from happening.

Antonyms

• Allow: To permit something to happen.
• Cause: To make something happen.
• Precipitate: To cause an event to happen suddenly.

Notes

• The core meaning of forfend is preventative. It is not used to describe stopping an event that is already in progress.
• While historically it could also mean "to protect or defend," this sense is now obsolete. The primary modern sense is "to avert or prevent."

Học thuật

Verb

1. prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening
   • Let's avoid a confrontation
   • head off a confrontation
   • avert a strike