Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The act or state of being antecedent or prevenient.
  • noun Attention to another's needs.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of anticipating or going before; anticipation.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun rare The act of going before; anticipation.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The act or condition of occurring earlier, of being antecedent.
  • noun Something done beforehand in anticipation of a later situation.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin praeveniēns ("preceding, coming before").

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word prevenience.

Examples

  • I first learned the word "prevenience" from Eugene Peterson in his book "The Contemplative Pastor".

    CHARIS SHALOM Bryan Riley 2010

  • The keen sense, present throughout this amazingly rich collection, of the reality, prevenience, presence, protection -- of the central importance for man, of God, the All-Abiding, finds thus its full, deathless articulation.

    Progress and History Francis Sydney Marvin 1903

  • The traditional doctrine defining this truth is prevenience: God everywhere and always seizing the initiative.

    CHARIS SHALOM Bryan Riley 2010

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.