as in preparatory
coming before the main part or item usually to introduce or prepare for what follows
in prefatory remarks he offered his own definition of "civilization", a word subject to a variety of interpretations
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Recent Examples of prefatory
Could be that fans were simply exhausted by all the prefatory ugliness that led up to Washington’s first playoff victory in 18 years, but anyone who tuned out early missed a hell of a star turn from the Commanders’ Jayden Daniels.
—
Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 3 Sep. 2019
The prefatory pause gives the audience a chance to applaud a starry ensemble.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 13 Dec. 2024
As the author’s prefatory note indicates, the book centers on the discovery, in 2001, of an unidentified Black boy’s remains in the River Thames.
—Gboyega Odubanjo, The New Yorker, 24 June 2024
As Chin writes in a prefatory author’s note, her family’s history traveled down to her primarily via oral history.
—Rhoda Feng, Washington Post, 27 Apr. 2023
But even before her characters intersect, familiar objects — a dreidel, nesting dolls, exquisitely carved chess pieces — keep popping up in prefatory monologues and the stories themselves.
—Julia M. Klein, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Mar. 2023
Venice opens with a prefatory poem recalling a trip from Beirut to Cyprus, the birthplace of Aphrodite.
—Dan Chiasson, The New York Review of Books, 7 Sep. 2022
What might have gone down as an odd concert experience was energized by Taylor’s prefatory joke inviting us to imagine FBI agents singing this song during their recent search at Mar-a-Lago.
—W. Anthony Sheppard, BostonGlobe.com, 22 Aug. 2022
After this prefatory video ends, a door automatically slides open, giving access to a chamber that evokes the exterior of Tut’s royal tomb, the only largely intact one ever found in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings.
—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 23 June 2022
Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 3 Sep. 2019
The prefatory pause gives the audience a chance to applaud a starry ensemble.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 13 Dec. 2024
As the author’s prefatory note indicates, the book centers on the discovery, in 2001, of an unidentified Black boy’s remains in the River Thames.
—Gboyega Odubanjo, The New Yorker, 24 June 2024
As Chin writes in a prefatory author’s note, her family’s history traveled down to her primarily via oral history.
—Rhoda Feng, Washington Post, 27 Apr. 2023
But even before her characters intersect, familiar objects — a dreidel, nesting dolls, exquisitely carved chess pieces — keep popping up in prefatory monologues and the stories themselves.
—Julia M. Klein, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Mar. 2023
Venice opens with a prefatory poem recalling a trip from Beirut to Cyprus, the birthplace of Aphrodite.
—Dan Chiasson, The New York Review of Books, 7 Sep. 2022
What might have gone down as an odd concert experience was energized by Taylor’s prefatory joke inviting us to imagine FBI agents singing this song during their recent search at Mar-a-Lago.
—W. Anthony Sheppard, BostonGlobe.com, 22 Aug. 2022
After this prefatory video ends, a door automatically slides open, giving access to a chamber that evokes the exterior of Tut’s royal tomb, the only largely intact one ever found in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings.
—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 23 June 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prefatory
Adjective
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This method can temporarily manage symptoms or serve as a preparatory step before a more comprehensive surgical procedure.11 2.—
Lindsay Curtis,
Health,
24 Dec. 2024
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But this time measures like the travel ban were replaced by more methodical reviews and preparatory actions that could serve as the precursors to such policies while putting them on more solid legal footing.—
Jonathan Blitzer,
The New Yorker,
24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Del Rey’s introductory full-length pushes five spots on the Official Albums chart, up to No. 55.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes,
4 Mar. 2025
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The pair re-teamed at the Academy Awards the following year for the broadcast’s introductory sketch, which featured Palance dragging a giant Oscar statue onstage, with Crystal (again the host) riding it.—
Jordan Runtagh,
People.com,
2 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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At the beginning of 2024, however, the implementation of SB 323 and SB 528 was held up when a judge in Bozeman, where the median home price now exceeds $800,000, issued a preliminary injunction.—
Patrick Gleason,
Forbes,
1 Mar. 2025
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The preliminary injunction continued to block the pause.—
Kevin Freking,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Prefatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prefatory. Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.
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