Obviate

Question

I heard Mike Taibbi on TV this morning saying that something "obviated the need for" something else.Isn't this redundant? Doesn't the word "obviate" mean "to eliminate the need "FOR" something?Mark

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]I heard Mike Taibbi on TV this morning saying that something "obviated the need for" something else. Isn't this redundant? Doesn't the word "obviate" mean "to eliminate the need "FOR" something?[/nq]
Perhaps he thinks it means "to make obvious". A not-unheard-of misapprehension.
Philip Eden

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I heard Mike Taibbi on TV this morning saying that something "obviated the need for" something else. Isn't this redundant? Doesn't the word "obviate" mean "to eliminate the need "FOR" something?[/nq]
No. You are in error. Here is the OED2 entry for the non-obsolete meaning of obviate. Note the citations. In 1598 Yong obviated doubt, in
1656 Cromwell obviated dangers, in 1692 Betley obviated ovjections, in
1751 Johnson obviated inconveniences, in 1804 Ellenborough obviateddefects, and in 1868 Rogers obviated risks.
(OED2)

2. To meet and dispose of or do away with (a thing); to clear out ofthe way; to prevent by anticipatory measures.

1598 Yong Diana 338 So did she obuiate this doubt with a suddenremedie.

1656 Cromwell Sp. 17 Sept. in Carlyle, That I might .. advise withyou about the remedies and means to obviate these dangers.
1692 Bentley Boyle Lect. 243 (This) will obviate and preclude themost considerable objections of our adversaries.

1751 Johnson Rambler No. 148 311 But how has he obviated theinconveniences of old age?

1804 Ld. Ellenborough in East's Rep. V. 254 The defect .. cannot ..be obviated in the manner suggested.

1868 Rogers Pol. Econ. iv. (1876) 38 The risk of transporting moneyfrom one country to another has been obviated by the use of .. Bills of Exchange.
And the SOED adds a citation for obviating needs after one for obviating pages:
(SOED5)

1. Encounter and dispose of; get round, do away with, (esp. adifficulty, need, etc.). L16.
M. N. *** Analogies can..convey meaning in such a vivid .. form that many pages of..arid description are obviated.
Independent The new emphasis does not obviate the need for financial assistance to developing countries.

Usenet · Answer

"Mark":
[nq:2]I heard Mike Taibbi on TV this morning saying that ... the word "obviate" mean "to eliminate the need "FOR" something?[/nq]
Martin Ambuhl:
[nq:1]No. You are in error. Here is the OED2 entry for the non-obsolete meaning of obviate. Note the citations. In ... 1692 Betley obviated ovjections, in 1751 Johnson obviated inconveniences, in 1804 Ellenborough obviated defects, and in 1868 Rogers obviated risks.[/nq]
Yes, but that entry was written in 1902, wasn't it? And all of the cites are about obviating obstacles*, not *needs. (Are the rewritten entries in the OED3 up to "obviate" yet?)
Now if we look at the RHU1, it defines "obviate" as "to prevent or eliminate (difficulties, disadvantages, etc.) by effective measures; render unnecessary". Similarly gives "to anticipate and prevent (as a situation) or make unnecessary (as an action)"; and the online American Heritage Dictionary under has "To anticipate and dispose of effectively; render unnecessary."
In other words, all three agree that if you're talking about a need, obviate does mean to eliminate it. "Render unnecessary" is the same as "eliminate the need", and so "obviate the need" is redundant.

On the other hand, it's also very commonly used, so it's not really reasonable to object to it. I find 184,000 Google hits on "obviate the need" vs. only 630,000 for "obviate" itself. We've seen that Google's phrase-search hit-count estimates don't necessarily align properly with those for single words, so we can't conclude from this that 30% of pages using "obviate" use it in that phrase, but it is clearly safe to say that a substantial fraction of them do.
Mark Brader "You have a truly warped mind. Toronto I admire that in a person." (Email Removed) Bill Davidsen

My text in this article is in the public domain.

Usenet · Answer

Mark Brader wrote on 05 May 2005:
[nq:1]"Mark": Martin Ambuhl:[/nq]
[nq:2]No. You are in error. Here is the OED2 entry ... 1804 Ellenborough obviated defects, and in 1868 Rogers obviated risks.[/nq]
[nq:1]Yes, but that entry was written in 1902, wasn't it? And all of the cites are about obviating obstacles, not ... mean to eliminate it. "Render unnecessary" is the same as "eliminate the need", and so "obviate the need" is redundant.[/nq]
Garner disagrees with that (1). Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage disagrees with that. Collins Cobuild English Dictionary for Advanced Learners disagrees with that (2).
(1)
(quote)
obviate. Some modern dictionaries define obviate as meaning "to make unnecessary." And some writers actually use the word this way e.g.: "volunteering does not, I repeat does not, obviate government's role in providing social services." Betty Winston Baye, "Volunteers Won't Be Enough," Courier-J. (Louisville), 1 May 1997, at 13A. But that definition is unduly restrictive. In fact, the OED doesn't even list this sense. Obviate more usually means "to meet and dispose of or do away with (a thing); to prevent by anticipatory measures" (OED). E.g.: "Human influence is a natural part of planetary evolution that might need to be tempered but certainly not obviated." "Environment: Facing Facts," Richmond Times Dispatch, 6 Dec. 1995, at A1O./ "Mr. Kasparov said he had missed the draw
because the computer had played so brilliantly that he thought it would have obviated the possibility of the draw known as perpetual check." Bruce Weber, "Kasparov Sings the Deep Blues," Int'l Herald Trib., 13 May 1997, at 1.
In the sense "to make unnecessary," obviate often appears correctly in the phrase obviate the necessity of or need for. These phrases are not REDUNDANCIES, for the true sense of obviate the necessity is "to prevent the necessity (from arising)," hence to make unnecessary e.g.: "Not insignificantly, it may also obviate the need for some government tuition aid." John Kolbe,
"Small Steps Creating Tax Revolution," Ariz. Republic, 4 May 1997, at H5.
Obviate is sometimes misunderstood as meaning "to make obvious" e.g.: "This is just another study obviating the obvious." Gregory Stanford, "Surprise! Safety Net Does Work,"
Milwaukee J. Sentinel, 8 Dec. 1996, Crossroads, at 3. (A possible revision: This is just another study making obvious things obvious. Or: This is just another study making obvious things more obvious.) (/quote)
(2)
****ate
To obviate something such as a problem or a need means to remove it or make it unnecessary. (FORMAL)
The use of a solicitor trained as a mediator would obviate the need for independent legal advice...
VERB V n
(c) HarperCollins Publishers.

Franke: EFL teacher & medical editor
For email, replace numbers with English alphabet.

Obviate

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions