[n] an agent or device intended to prevent conception
[n] any obstruction that impedes or is burdensome
[n] remedy that prevents or slows the course of an illness or disease; "the doctor recommended several preventatives"
[adj] preventing or contributing to the prevention of disease; "preventive medicine"; "vaccines are prophylactic"; "a prophylactic drug"
[adj] tending to prevent or hinder
[adj] tending to ward off; "the swastika...a very ancient prophylactic symbol occurring among all peoples"- Victor Schultze