A preservative is a substance added to food, drinks or cosmetics to stop them going bad. It is not a word for a contraceptive: that is a condom. Labels often say no preservatives or preservative-free, which means the product contains none.
preservative: will you get the meaning right?
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contain + preservatives; no artificial preservatives; preservative-free + noun; a natural preservative
- This jam contains no artificial preservatives, so keep it in the fridge after opening.
- Salted fish can be kept for months because salt works as a natural preservative.
- I always read the label, because some preservatives give me a headache.
What changed
First versionAt the pharmacy, I asked for a pack of preservatives.
RevisionAt the pharmacy, I asked for a pack of condoms.
In several languages, including French, Spanish and Italian, a word that looks like preservative means condom, so the two are easy to mix up. But in a pharmacy, a pack of preservatives would sound like a request for a pack of food additives. The contraceptive is called a condom, plural condoms.
Don't confuse preservative with conservative: conservative means traditional and cautious, for example about views or clothes. Food sold in tins is called tinned food, or canned food in American English: We took some tinned food on the camping trip.
Your turn
The yoghurt contains no ___, so you need to eat it within five days of buying it.
Show the answer
preservatives — The yoghurt has to be eaten within five days because it contains nothing that makes it last longer. Those substances are preservatives. Conservative means traditional or cautious and has nothing to do with what is in food.
Look at the label of a product you often buy. Name the product, say whether it contains preservatives and how many days it stays fresh.
The rye bread I buy every week has no preservatives, so it only stays fresh for about four days.
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