[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

prevention \preven"tion\, n. cf. f. pr'evention.
   1. the act of going, or state of being, before. obs.
      1913 webster

            the greater the distance, the greater the
            prevention.                           --bacon.
      1913 webster

   2. anticipation; esp., anticipation of needs or wishes;
      hence, precaution; forethought. obs. --hammond. shak.
      1913 webster

   3. the act of preventing or hindering; obstruction of action,
      access, or approach; thwarting. --south.
      1913 webster

            casca, be sudden, for we fear prevention. --shak.
      1913 webster

   4. prejudice; prepossession. a gallicism --dryden.
      1913 webster

[2] : WordNet (r) 2.0

prevention
     n : the act of preventing; "there was no bar against leaving";
         "money was allocated to study the cause and prevention of
         influenza" syn: bar
see also:
bar 

[3] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

126 moby thesaurus words for "prevention":
   eighteenth amendment, prohibition party, volstead act, abortion,
   anticipation, arrest, arrestation, arresting, avoidance, avoiding,
   avoiding reaction, balk, balking, ban, banning, bar, barring,
   block, blocking, check, checking, circumvention, contraband,
   control, controlling, curb, curbing, debarment, debarring,
   defense mechanism, delay, delaying, denial, determent, deterrence,
   disallowance, discouragement, dodge, duck, elusion, elusiveness,
   embargo, enjoining, equivocation, escape, estoppel, evasion,
   evasive action, evasiveness, exclusion, foiling, forbearance,
   forbiddance, forbidden fruit, forbidding, foreclosure,
   forestalling, forestallment, frustrating, frustration,
   getting around, halt, halting, hampering, hindering, hindrance,
   impedance, impeding, index, index expurgatorius,
   index librorum prohibitorum, inhibiting, inhibition, injunction,
   intercepting, interception, interdict, interdicting, interdiction,
   interdictum, jink, law, mitigating, mitigation, neutrality, no-no,
   nonintervention, noninvolvement, obstructing, obstruction,
   obviation, preclusion, prohibiting, prohibition,
   prohibitory injunction, proscribing, proscription, refraining,
   refusal, rejection, repression, restraining, restraint,
   restrictive covenants, retardation, ruling out, shunning,
   shunting off, shy, sidestep, sidetracking, slip, slowing, statute,
   stay, stop, stoppage, stopping, sumptuary laws, suppression, taboo,
   the runaround, thwarting, zigzag, zoning, zoning laws

[4] : Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)

prevention, civil and french law. the right of a judge to take cognizance of 
an action over which he has concurrent jurisdiction with another judge. 
     2. in pennsylvania it has been ruled that a justice of the peace cannot 
take cognizance of a cause which has been previously decided by another 
justice. 2 dall. 77; id. 114. 

Prevention >> P Words
Prevention, definition of term: Prevention
prevention_pag1.html