Verb: obviate 'ób-vee,eyt
- Prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening; to protect from or to keep away anything undesirable; to ward off
"They managed to obviate the crisis through quick action";
- forefend [archaic], forfend [archaic], deflect, avert, head off, stave off, fend off, avoid, ward off
- Remove or make unnecessary
"The new system obviates the need for manual processing";
- rid of, eliminate
Derived forms: obviated, obviates, obviating
Type of: forbid, foreclose, forestall, get rid of, preclude, prevent, remove