<B>prepackage, </B>transitive verb, <B>-aged,</B> <B>-aging.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to package (foods and other articles) in certain weights, sizes, or grades, usually with the price attached, before putting up for sale. <BR> <I>Ex. Most meat now sold in such self-service departments is prepackaged in the store rather than by packers (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="prepaid">
<B>prepaid, </B>verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> the past tense and past participle of <B>prepay.</B> <BR> <I>Ex. Send this shipment prepaid.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="preparation">
<B>preparation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act of preparing; making ready. <BR> <I>Ex. He sharpened his knife in preparation for carving the meat.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the state of being prepared. <DD><B> 3. </B>a thing done to get ready. <BR> <I>Ex. He made thorough preparations for his trip by carefully planning which way to go.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>a medicine, food, or mixture of any kind made by a special process. <BR> <I>Ex. The preparation for his cough included camphor.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>an animal body or part of one prepared for dissection, or preserved for examination. <DD><B> 6. </B>(Music.) <DD><B> a. </B>the leading up to a discord by sounding the dissonant tone in it as a consonant tone in the preceding chord. <DD><B> b. </B>the consonance which becomes dissonance (usually the suspension) in the next chord. </DL>
<A NAME="preparative">
<B>preparative, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>=preparatory.</B> <DD><I>noun </I> something that prepares, or helps to prepare; preliminary; preparation. <BR> <I>Ex. if discontent and misery are preparatives for liberty (Charles Kingsley).</I> adv. <B>preparatively.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="preparator">
<B>preparator, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who prepares food or medicine by a special process or prepares animals for dissection. </DL>
<A NAME="preparatory">
<B>preparatory, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of or for preparation; preparing; making ready. Preparatory courses fit pupils for college. <DD><B> 2. </B>as an introduction; preliminary. <BR> <I>Ex. preparatory remarks.</I> adv. <B>preparatorily.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="preparatoryschool">
<B>preparatory school,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(U.S.) a private school, usually from grades 9 through 12, that prepares boys or girls for college. <DD><B> 2. </B>(British.) a private school that prepares boys of 6 to 14 for the public schools. </DL>
<A NAME="prepare">
<B>prepare, </B>verb, <B>-pared,</B> <B>-paring.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to make ready; put in condition for something. <BR> <I>Ex. to prepare a room for a guest, to prepare a boy for college. He prepares his lessons while his mother prepares supper.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to make by a special process. <BR> <I>Ex. to prepare the medicine prescribed, to prepare steel from iron.</I> (SYN) devise, contrive. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Music.) to lead up to (a discord) by sounding the dissonant tone as a consonant tone in the preceding chord. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Archaic.) to provide; furnish. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to get ready; put oneself, or things, in readiness. <BR> <I>Ex. to prepare for a test. The thunderbolt Hangs silent; but prepare. I speak, it falls (Tennyson).</I> noun <B>preparer.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="preparedly">
<B>preparedly, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> with suitable preparation. </DL>
<A NAME="preparedness">
<B>preparedness, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the state of being prepared; readiness. <DD><B> 2. </B>the state of having adequate military forces and defenses to meet threats or outbreaks of war. </DL>
<A NAME="preparedpiano">
<B>prepared piano,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a piano that has had its timbre altered to produce unconventional sounds by attaching various objects to the strings. <DD><B> 2. </B>the method of playing such a piano. </DL>
<A NAME="prepatellar">
<B>prepatellar, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> situated in front of the patella. <BR> <I>Ex. the prepatellar bursa.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="prepay">
<B>prepay, </B>transitive verb, <B>-paid,</B> <B>-paying.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to pay in advance. <BR> <I>Ex. We prepay the post office by putting a stamp on a letter before sending it.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to pay for in advance. <BR> <I>Ex. He prepaid the shipping charges to make sure the package would arrive on time.</I> adj. <B>prepayable.</B> noun <B>prepayment.</B> </DL>
<B>preplan, </B>transitive verb, intransitive verb, <B>-planned,</B> <B>-planning.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to plan beforehand; plan ahead. <BR> <I>Ex. The academic curriculum must be preplanned at different levels of difficulty (Atlantic). There has also been "preplanning for air delivery" of the equipment (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="prepollex">
<B>prepollex, </B>noun, pl. <B>-pollices.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a rudimentary structure found in some animals on the radial edge of the hand or forefoot, supposed to represent an additional digit. </DL>
<A NAME="preponderance">
<B>preponderance, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a greater number; greater weight; greater power or influence. <BR> <I>Ex. In July the hot days have the preponderance.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) the fact or condition of being the chief or most important element. <BR> <I>Ex. the preponderance of oaks in these woods.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="preponderancy">
<B>preponderancy, </B>noun, pl. <B>-cies.</B> <B>=preponderance.</B></DL>
<A NAME="preponderant">
<B>preponderant, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>weighing more; being stronger or more numerous; having more power or influences. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) chief; most important; predominant. <BR> <I>Ex. Greed is a miser's preponderant characteristic. Faithfulness is one of the preponderant characteristics of dogs.</I> adv. <B>preponderantly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="preponderate">
<B>preponderate, </B>verb, <B>-ated,</B> <B>-ating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to be greater than something else in weight, power, force, influence, number, or amount. <BR> <I>Ex. The good in this state of existence preponderates over the bad (Dickens).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) to be chief; be most important; predominate. <BR> <I>Ex. Oaks and maples preponderate in our woods.</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> to be greater than; outweigh. adv. <B>preponderatingly.</B> noun <B>preponderation.</B> </DL>
<B>preposition, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a word that shows certain relations between other words. <I>With, for, by,</I> and <I>in</I> are prepositions in the sentence "A man <I>with</I> rugs <I>for</I> sale walked <I>by</I> our house <I>in</I> the morning." </DL>
<A NAME="prepositional">
<B>prepositional, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having to do with a preposition. <DD><B> 2. </B>having the nature or function of a preposition. <DD><B> 3. </B>made up of a preposition and its object. <BR> <I>Ex. a prepositional phrase.</I> adv. <B>prepositionally.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="prepositive">
<B>prepositive, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Grammar.) <DD><I>adj. </I> put before; prefixed. <DD><I>noun </I> prepositive word or particle. adv. <B>prepositively.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="prepositor">
<B>prepositor, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of the senior boys at some English public schools who discipline the younger students, especially out of the classroom; monitor. Also, <B>praepositor,</B> <B>praepostor,</B> <B>prepostor.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="prepositorial">
<B>prepositorial, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with prepositors. </DL>
<A NAME="prepossess">
<B>prepossess, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to fill with a favorable feeling or opinion, especially beforehand or at the outset. <BR> <I>Ex. We were prepossessed by the boy's modest behavior.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to fill with a feeling or opinion. <BR> <I>Ex. The teacher ... did not prepossess me in favour of his pursuits (Mary Shelley).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to take or get possession of beforehand. </DL>
<A NAME="prepossessing">
<B>prepossessing, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> making a favorable first impression; attractive; pleasing. <BR> <I>Ex. a most prepossessing young man. Clean clothes and good manners are prepossessing.</I> adv. <B>prepossessingly.</B> noun <B>prepossessingness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="prepossession">
<B>prepossession, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a favorable feeling or opinion formed beforehand; prejudice; bias. <BR> <I>Ex. A well-written letter applying for a position will create a prepossession toward the writer.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>prior possession or occupancy. </DL>
<A NAME="preposterous">
<B>preposterous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> against nature, reason, or common sense; absurd; senseless; foolish. <BR> <I>Ex. It would be preposterous to shovel snow with a teaspoon. That the moon is made of green cheese is a preposterous notion.</I> (SYN) nonsensical. adv. <B>preposterously.</B> noun <B>preposterousness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="prepostor">
<B>prepostor, </B>noun. <B>=prepositor.</B></DL>
<A NAME="prepotence">
<B>prepotence, </B>noun. <B>=prepotency.</B></DL>
<A NAME="prepotency">
<B>prepotency, </B>noun, pl. <B>-cies.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>superior power or influence; predominance. <BR> <I>Ex. The "prepotency" of pain [is seen in] ... its ability to suffuse the entire field of consciousness with distress and to crowd out all other thoughts (Martin E. Spencer).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Genetics.) the marked power of one parent, variety, or strain, to transmit a special character or characters to the progeny. </DL>
<A NAME="prepotent">
<B>prepotent, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having greater power or influence than others; predominant. <BR> <I>Ex. An ambiguous, prepotent figure had come to disturb the ... jealously guarded balance of the English constitution (Lytton Strachey).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Genetics.) <DD><B> a. </B>of prepotency. <DD><B> b. </B>exhibiting prepotency. adv. <B>prepotently.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="preppie">
<B>preppie</B> or <B>preppy, </B>noun, pl. <B>-pies.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Slang.) a student or graduate of a preparatory school. <BR> <I>Ex. No longer believe that Harvard students are all rich preppies tracing their Harvard histories back almost as far as the Saltonstalls ... (Harper's).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="preprandial">
<B>preprandial, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> preceding a dinner, banquet, or the like. <BR> <I>Ex. preprandial conversation. Fortifying himself with a preprandial dry martini (Saturday Review).</I> </DL>
