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
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.
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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
These prefatory remarks are by way of setting up the following chronology — without any claims of causation.
—Bryan A. Garner, National Review, 17 Feb. 2022
The chronicle that results, as Mitenbuler explains in a prefatory note, also appears at a moment when, for the first time in the history of the form, everything is available.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 21 Dec. 2020
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
These prefatory remarks are by way of setting up the following chronology — without any claims of causation.
—Bryan A. Garner, National Review, 17 Feb. 2022
The chronicle that results, as Mitenbuler explains in a prefatory note, also appears at a moment when, for the first time in the history of the form, everything is available.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 21 Dec. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prefatory
Adjective
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Basically, those are college prep courses in history/social science, English, math, a foreign language, a laboratory science, visual and performing arts, and a college preparatory elective.Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes, 2 Nov. 2024
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Whenever meteorologists begin mentioning a storm in the Gulf, Atlanta’s Office of Emergency Preparedness springs into preparatory action, Dickens said.Jane Thier, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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At the Madison Square Garden rally in New York last month, Trump surrogate Vivek Ramaswamy said during his introductory remarks that the Empire State was a 2024 swing state, a projection that Democrats aren't buying.David Jackson, USA TODAY, 4 Nov. 2024
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Lastly, place your introductory $5 bet on Bucs vs. Chiefs or any other game.Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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The company has filed a preliminary proxy statement to amend its Certificate of Incorporation to extend the Termination Date, subject to stockholder approval.Quartz Bot, Quartz, 14 Nov. 2024
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After a few of the tests were complete, police said Geer stopped cooperating and refused a preliminary breath test.Lauren Penington, The Denver Post, 14 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near prefatory
Cite this Entry
“Prefatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prefatory. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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