Obviate

verb

To preclude or neutralize a thing or condition in advance

Usage

Obviate is used to describe the act of making something unnecessary or ineffectual, or of removing an obstacle. Applied specifically to difficulties or conditions that have yet to occur, to obviate is to take a preventative measure of some kind. Obviate is typically not used to describe finding a solution or workaround for a situation that currently exists, but it would be possible to obviate the need for action in the future should such a situation arise again. Accordingly, the word obviate is most often used as part of the phrase "obviate the need for."

It is possible to obviate scenarios that may loom in the long term, or that one does not immediately foresee, rather than just problems that one can anticipate at the moment. For example, good parenting demands one take many obviation precautions: parents will want their children to develop strong values, so they teach them the difference between right and wrong to obviate the emergence of selfish behaviors or attitudes. Similarly, it is common to vaccinate one's children to obviate the contraction of serious illnesses such as measles and tetanus. In both these instances, a potential issue is defused by forethought and advanced preparation. It is also possible to obviate (especially "obviate the need for") something that, in a future setting, you may still wish or need to use - i.e. to obviate something doesn't necessarily make it obsolete. For instance, having a subway card may obviate the need for you to carry cash to ride the train, but on your next ride you may forget the card, or it may have run out of prepaid fare, in which case you will need to pay your fare in cash.

Example: Scientific advances may obviate the need for transportation as we know it today.

Example: Many writers do not want the emergence of eBooks to obviate the publication of physical books.

Origin

Obviate comes from the combination of the Latin "ob," meaning "to go against," and "via" meaning "way." Combined, they formed the verb "obviare" signifying "to block or hinder," whose past participle "obviatus" meant "to meet or withstand." The stem "obviat-" translates to "prevented." The earliest English use of obviate was in the late 16th century.

Derivative Words

Obviated: The past tense of obviate describes the circumstance that has been defused or thwarted before it arose, rather than the act of nullification itself.

Example: The guest's provision of hamburger buns obviated a second trip to the grocery store.

Obviating: The active verb form of obviate is used while the situation is currently being prevented.

Example: The cancer patient received chemotherapy treatment, obviating the need for more surgery.

Obviation: The noun form of obviate is used to describe the completed neutralization of a possible future condition.

Example: The treaty agreement marked an obviation of war between the two countries.

In Literature

From Anne Brontë's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

"And you thought to rob me of my son too, and bring him up to be a dirty Yankee tradesman, or a low, beggarly painter?"
"Yes, to obviate his becoming such a gentleman as his father."

Here, obviate is employed to describe the preventative parenting measure the second speaker adopts to ensure the first speaker's son does not become like his father.

Mnemonic

When you obviate, you remove your obstacles.
To obviate potential problems whenever possible is obviously smart.