obviate vs ward off

obviate and ward off both are verbs.

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

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

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

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

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