preferable 1088
He chose Spain, but personally I'd prefer to go to Greece. | [+obj+to-v] 'Let me wash the dishes - or would you prefer me to dry them?' | [+that] Would you prefer that we reschedule the meeting for next week? 2 law to officially make (a charge) against someone: Since they are so young, the police have decided not to prefer charges/a charge. 3 [(to)] fml or tech to appoint to a higher position, especially in the church
pref·er·able /'prefrəbəl/ adj [(to)] better, especially because more suitable; that one should or would prefer: A dark suit is preferable to a light one for evening wear. | Anything is preferable to having her stay for the whole week! —bly adv: I can meet you at any time tomorrow, but preferably not before 11 o'clock. (=I would prefer not before 11 o'clock)
pref·er·ence /'prefrəns/ n [C;U] 1 [(for, to)] (a) liking for one thing rather than another: Of the two, my preference is for the smaller car. | I don't know your preferences, so please help yourself. (=choose the things you prefer) | 'Would you like tea or coffee?' 'Either; I've no strong preference.' | He always drinks red wine in preference to (=rather than) white. 2 [(over, to)] (a) special favour or consideration shown to a person, group etc, especially in business matters: We've granted that country special trade preferences. | In considering people for jobs, we give preference to those with some experience. | Teachers try not to show preference to any particular student.
'preference ,share BrE || preferred stock AmE — n a SHARE in a public company that usually pays a fixed rather than a variable DIVIDEND, and which would be worth more than an ordinary share if the company were to fail
pref·er·en·tial /,prefə'renʃəl/ adj [A] of, giving, receiving, or showing PREFERENCE: The theatre gives preferential booking privileges to its regular patrons. | a controversial new law that gives preferential treatment to certain minority groups —ly adv: Don't expect to be treated preferentially.
pre·fer·ment /prɪ'fːmənt||-ɜːr-/ n [U(to)] fml or tech appointment to a higher rank or position, especially in the church
pre,ferred 'stock n [U;C] AmE for PREFERENCE SHARE
pre·fig·ure /,pri:'figə||-gjər/ v [T] fml to be a sign of (something that will come later): This meeting may prefigure an improvement in relations between the two countries. —uration /ˌpriˌfigə'reɪʃn||-gjər-/ n [C;U]
pre·fix¹ /'pri:fɪks/ n 1 (in grammar) an AFFIX added to the beginning of a word (as in untie misunderstood) → compare SUFFIX 2 a title used before a person's name: 'Mr' and 'Dr' are prefixes. 3 a CODE
prefix² v [T] 1 to add a prefix to (a word or name) 2 [(to)] to add (something) to the beginning (of): She prefixed a few complimentary remarks to her speech. → compare PREFACE
preg·nan·cy /'pregnənsi/ n [C;U] (an example of) the condition of being pregnant: You are advised not to smoke during pregnancy. | This is her third pregnancy.
'pregnancy ,test n a test performed on a woman's URINE to find out whether she is pregnant or not. In many countries women can buy pregnancy test materials at the CHEMIST's and do the test themselves.
preg·nant /'pregnənt/ adj 1 (of a woman or female animal) having an unborn child or unborn young in the body: She was pregnant with her second child. | How long has she been pregnant? | [after n] She's five months pregnant. 2 [A] full of important but unexpressed or hidden meaning: His words were followed by a pregnant pause. 3 [F+with] fml filled with something not yet fully known, understood, or developed; giving signs or warnings of some future development: Every phrase in this poem is pregnant with meaning. | a situation pregnant with several interesting possibilities —ly adv
pre·heat /,pri:'hi:t/ v [T] to heat up (an OVEN) to a particular temperature before using it for cooking
pre·hen·sile /prɪ'hensaɪl||-səl/ adj tech (of a part of the body) able to curl round things and hold on to them: The monkey was hanging from the branch by its prehensile tail.
pre·his·tor·ic /,pri:hɪ'stɔrɪk||-'stɔː-, -'stɑː-/ adj of a time before recorded history: prehistoric man | prehistoric burial grounds | (fig.) His ideas on morals are really prehistoric. (=very old-fashioned) → compare HISTORIC —ally /kli/ adv
pre·his·to·ry /pri:'hɪstəri/ n [U] the time in human history before there were any written records
pre·judge /,pri:'dʒʌdʒ/ v [T] derog to form an opinion about (someone or something) before knowing or examining all the facts: Try not to prejudge the issue. —judgment, -judgement n [C;U]
prej·u·dice¹ /'predʒudɪs/ n 1 [C;U (against, in favour of)] (an) unfair and often unfavourable feeling or opinion formed without thinking deeply and clearly or without enough knowledge, and sometimes resulting from fear or distrust of ideas different from one's own: They accused him of having a prejudice against his women employees. | A judge must be free from prejudice. | A new law has been brought in to discourage racial prejudice. (=prejudice against members of other races) 2 [U] fml a) harm caused to something or someone by the action or judgment of another: He continued to smoke, to the prejudice of his health. b) harm to one's own right or claim in law: We accept this interim settlement without prejudice to our claim for a full settlement later on. (=we still keep our right to such a claim)
prejudice² v [T] 1 [(against/in favour of) often pass.] to cause to have a prejudice; influence unfairly: She's prejudiced against French wine because she's Italian. | His pleasant voice and manner prejudiced the jury in his favour. 2 to weaken or harm (someone's case, expectations etc): Your bad spelling may prejudice your chances of getting the job. → compare PREDISPOSE
prej·u·diced /'predʒudɪst/ adj derog feeling or showing prejudice; unfair: Don't ask him; he's prejudiced. | a prejudiced judgment | racially prejudiced → opposite UNPREJUDICED
prej·u·di·cial /,predʒu'dɪʃəl/ adj [F+to] rather fml harmful: Too much smoking is prejudicial to health.
prel·ate /'prelɪt/ n a priest of high position in the church, such as a BISHOP or ABBOT
pre·lim·i·na·ry¹ /prɪ'lɪmɪnəri||-neri/ adj [A] coming before and introducing or preparing for something more important: The students take a preliminary test in March, and the main exam in July. | Our team got beaten in the preliminary rounds of the competition. | May I make a few preliminary remarks before we start the interview?
preliminary² n [usually pl.] something done first, to introduce or prepare for later things: There are a lot of preliminaries to be gone through before you can visit certain foreign countries.
pre·lit·er·ate /,pri:'lɪtərɪt/ adj tech not having a written language or keeping written records: ancient preliterate societies → compare ILLITERATE
pre·lude /'prelju:d/ n [(to)] 1 [C usually sing.] something that is followed by something larger or more important: The fighting in the streets may be a prelude to more serious trouble. 2 a) a short piece of music that introduces a large musical work: the prelude to Wagner's 'Mastersingers' b) a short separate piece of music for piano or ORGAN
pre·mar·i·tal /pri:'mærɪtəl/ adj happening or existing before marriage —ly adv
pre,marital 'contract also prenuptial agreement — n an agreement made by two people getting married about how to divide up their property if they decide to separate. Premarital contracts are common in the US but not in Britain.
pre,marital 'sex n [U] sexual relations between a man and a woman before marriage
CULTURAL NOTE In Britain, the US, and many other Western countries, this is thought to be quite common and it is not generally considered to be as immoral or shocking as it was in former times, though some groups are strongly against it, e.g. the Catholic Church.
pre·ma·ture /'premətʃʊə, -tjuə, ,premə'tʃuər|| ,pri:mə'tʃuər/ adj 1 developing or happening before the natural or proper time: His premature death at the age of 32 is a great loss. 2 (of a baby or birth) born or happening after less than the usual period of time inside the mother's body [after n] The baby was two months premature. (=was born two months earlier than expected) 3 derog done too early or too soon: I think your criticism of the new law is a bit premature, as we don't yet know all the details. —ly adv