head off vs obviate

head off and obviate both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
head off	No	No	Yes	No
obviate	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, head off and obviate are synonyms defined as:

head off and obviate: prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening; to protect from or to keep away anything undesirable; to ward off

Other synonyms of head off include avert, avoid, debar, deflect, fend off, forefend, forfend, stave off, ward off.

head off (verb)	obviate (verb)
prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening; to protect from or to keep away anything undesirable; to ward off	prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening; to protect from or to keep away anything undesirable; to ward off
	get rid of something