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• v  prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening

• It has no emotional tension or -- heaven forfend -- strong expression of frustration or need.
• So, wait, a company I don't care about bought another company I don't care about? Heaven forfend! How about Wolverine and the Quack Pack? Darkwing Duck and the X-Men?.
• Admitting to anything less than worshipping my dog will lump me with--heaven forfend--the cat people.

• debar
• forefend
• obviate
• deflect
• avert
• head off
• stave off
• fend off
• avoid
• ward off

News & Articles

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• George Will Very Confused by Monetary Policy
  If you were skimming George Will’s Sunday column , or even if — heaven forfend! — you neglected it altogether, you missed a remarkable sentence, buried deep within Will’s slightly paranoid meanderings against Janet Yellen: “The Fed seems to be evolving into a central economic planner with a roving commission to right social wrongs such as unemployment.”
  Nov. 11, 2013 - New York Magazine