preclude

• præclude (obsolete)

Learned borrowing from Latin praeclūdere.

• (US, UK) IPA^(key): /pɹɪˈkluːd/, /pɹiːˈkluːd/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːd

preclude (third-person singular simple present precludes, present participle precluding, simple past and past participle precluded)

1. (transitive) Remove the possibility of; rule out; prevent or exclude; to make impossible.

   It has been raining for days, but that doesn’t preclude the possibility that the skies will clear by this afternoon!

   • 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Influence of an Invitation”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 15:

     "Now, own the truth,—are you not very sorry that my having been in the opposition precludes your going to the most brilliant fête of the season?"

   • 1946 September and October, “Notes and News: Locomotive Whistle Gift”, in Railway Magazine, page 322:

     A chime whistle, presented to the L.M.S.R. by American model railway enthusiasts in 1939, is installed now as a works hooter at Crewe Works, as its height precludes its use on a British locomotive.

   • 1962 October, G. Freeman Allen, “The New Look in Scotland's Northern Division—II”, in Modern Railways, page 271:

     This is of unusual importance at Perth, compared with other modern yards, because the restricted scope for layout development precluded provision of a separate track as a head shunt at the southern end of the yard site. When such a facility is required, the main line has to be employed.

   • 2013 August 9, Douglas Main, “Israel Outlaws Water Fluoridation”, in livescience‎, retrieved 2013-09-30:

     Israel's decision to ban fluoridation follows a vote to preclude the practice in Portland, Ore., and Wichita, Kan. It was also recently overturned in Hamilton, the fourth most populous city in New Zealand.

   • 2020 June 17, David Clough, “Then and now: trains through Crewe”, in Rail, page 61:

     All the overnight trains were composed of Mk 1 vehicles that had vacuum brakes. This precluded the use of new Class 87s, which only had train air braking equipment, [...].

• See also Thesaurus:hinder

• precludable
• preclusive

• exclude
• foreclose
• preclusion

• forestall

• IPA^(key): /preˈklu.de/
• Rhymes: -ude
• Hyphenation: pre‧clù‧de

preclude

1. third-person singular present indicative of precludere