Stop somebody (from) doing something My parents tried to stop me seeing Anne.
The government has taken legal action to stop the BBC from broadcasting a documentary
about the Secret Service.
Keep somebody from doing something Staying busy kept her from thinking about her illness.
It was all I could do to keep myself from hitting him.
Restrain yourself She wanted to ask him all about his private life, but wisely restrained herself.
Restrain somebody from doing something His arm was hurting him and he had to be restrained from doing too much
Discourage somebody from doing something Higher cigarette prices do not seem to discourage people from smoking.
2. a problem that prevents you from achieving something Obstacle to The greatest obstacle to economic progress has been mass unemployment.
Overcome an obstacle (=deal with it successfully)
She had to overcome a lot of obstacles to finally make it to Drama College.
A bar to something His disability was no bar to his entry into the profession.
Differences in religious beliefs are not necessarily a bar to a good relationship.
Limiting I found the lack of available reference books very limiting.
There is a lot of research that still needs to be done, but money is an important limiting
factor.
3.
intended to prevent something happening
Preventive/preventative We should spend more money educating people about preventive medicine.
Schools must take preventative measures so that this type of tragedy never happens again
Preventative action can easily be taken to avoid damp occurring in your house.