forestall

1 keep from happening or arising; have the effect of preventing; "My sense of tact forbids an honest answer" [syn: prevent, foreclose, preclude, forbid]

2 act in advance of; deal with ahead of time [syn: anticipate, foresee, counter]

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɔːl

Verb

1. To prevent, delay or hinder something by taking precautionary or anticipatory measures; to avert.

   Fred forestalled disaster by his prompt action.

2. To purchase the complete supply of a good, particularly foodstuffs, in order to charge a monopoly price.

Derived terms

• forestaller
• forestallment
• forestalment

anticipate, avert, bamboozle, bar, beguile, betray, bluff, cajole, calculate on, cheat on, circumvent, conjure, corner, count on, debar, deceive, deflect, delay, delude, deter, diddle, discourage, dishearten, double-cross, dupe, engross, estop, exclude, fend, fend off, forbid, foreclose, foreglimpse, forerun, foresee, foretaste, frustrate, gammon, get ahead of, get around, go before, go off half-cocked, gull, help, hinder, hoax, hocus-pocus, hog, hornswaggle, humbug, intercept, juggle, jump the gun, keep from, keep off, let down, look for, look forward to, look out for, look to, mock, monopolize, obstruct, obviate, outmaneuver, outreach, outsmart, outwit, overreach, parry, pigeon, play one false, preclude, prevent, prohibit, put something over, reckon on, repel, rule out, save, snow, stave off, stop, string along, take in, take it all, thwart, tie up, trick, turn aside, two-time, ward, ward off, watch out for, win the start