<B>predecessor, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person holding a position or office before another. <BR> <I>Ex. John Adams was Jefferson's predecessor as President.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a thing that came before another. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Archaic.) an ancestor; forefather. </DL>
<A NAME="predella">
<B>predella, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the platform on which an altar is placed. <BR> <I>Ex. The step or base (predella) on which the altar stands often is considered a part of the altar (James Chillman).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a raised shelf at the back of an altar. <DD><B> 3. </B>a painting or sculpture on the front of this, often forming an appendage to an altarpiece. <DD><B> 4. </B>any painting forming a similar appendage to another painting. </DL>
<A NAME="predesignate">
<B>predesignate, </B>transitive verb, <B>-nated,</B> <B>-nating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to designate beforehand; specify in advance. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Logic.) to designate the range of (the predicate) by annexing to the subject a quantitative particle such as "one," "alone," or "nothing but." noun <B>predesignation.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="predestinarian">
<B>predestinarian, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of, having to do with, or believing in predestination. <DD><I>noun </I> a person who believes in or upholds the doctrine of predestination. </DL>
<A NAME="predestinarianism">
<B>predestinarianism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the system or doctrines of the predestinarians. </DL>
<A NAME="predestinate">
<B>predestinate, </B>verb, <B>-nated,</B> <B>-nating,</B> adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to decree or ordain beforehand. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Theology.) to foreordain by divine purpose. <DD><I>adj. </I> (Archaic.) predestined. </DL>
<A NAME="predestination">
<B>predestination, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act or fact of ordaining beforehand; destiny; fate. <BR> <I>Ex. a kind of moral predestination, or overruling principle which cannot be resisted (Samuel Johnson).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the action of God in deciding beforehand what shall happen. <DD><B> 3. </B>the doctrine that by God's decree certain souls will be saved and others lost. <BR> <I>Ex. ... one of the most disastrous of human ideas, the doctrine of predestination! (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="predestinator">
<B>predestinator, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person who predestinates or foreordains. <DD><B> 2. </B>a person who believes in predestination; predestinarian. </DL>
<A NAME="predestine">
<B>predestine, </B>transitive verb, <B>-tined,</B> <B>-tining.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to determine or settle beforehand; foreordain. </DL>
<A NAME="predetermination">
<B>predetermination, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the act or process of predetermining or state of being predetermined. </DL>
<A NAME="predeterminative">
<B>predeterminative, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having the quality of predetermining. </DL>
<A NAME="predetermine">
<B>predetermine, </B>transitive verb, <B>-mined,</B> <B>-mining.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to determine or decide beforehand. <BR> <I>Ex. We met at a predetermined time.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to direct or impel beforehand (to something). <BR> <I>Ex. Two world wars predetermined the henceforth inevitable symbiosis of scientific activity and political decision (Bulletin of Atomic Scientists).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="prediabetes">
<B>prediabetes, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the period or condition in prediabetic persons that precedes the onset of overt diabetes. </DL>
<A NAME="prediabetic">
<B>prediabetic, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> exhibiting metabolic changes that indicate a predisposition to diabetes. <BR> <I>Ex. In addition, a blood sugar test showed that the twins were "prediabetic" (Science News Letter).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> a prediabetic person. <BR> <I>Ex. The reason for the poor performance of the cells taken from prediabetics is not yet known but it may be due to more rapid aging of the diabetic cells (Barbara Ford).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="predial">
<B>predial, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>consisting of land. <DD><B> 2. </B>having to do with, arising from, or attached to land. <BR> <I>Ex. predial tithes, predial serfs.</I> <DD> Also, <B>praedial.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="predicability">
<B>predicability, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the quality of being predicable. </DL>
<A NAME="predicable">
<B>predicable, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> that can be predicated or affirmed; assertable. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a thing that can be predicated; attribute. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Logic.) any one of the various kinds of predicate that can be used of a subject. According to Aristotle they were genus, definition, difference, property, and accident, but subsequently definition was omitted and species added. adv. <B>predicably.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="predicament">
<B>predicament, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an unpleasant, difficult, or dangerous situation. <BR> <I>Ex. She was in a predicament when she missed the last train home.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>any condition, state, or situation. <DD><B> 3. </B>that which can be predicated; attribute. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Logic.) one of the categories or classes of predication. </DL>
<A NAME="predicamental">
<B>predicamental, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with predicaments. </DL>
<A NAME="predicant">
<B>predicant, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> given to or characterized by preaching. <DD><I>noun </I> a preacher, especially a member of a predicant religious order. </DL>
<A NAME="predicate">
<B>predicate, </B>noun, adjective, verb, <B>-cated,</B> <B>-cating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>(Grammar.) the word or words in a sentence that tell what is said about the subject. In "Men work," "The men dug wells," "The men are soldiers," <I>work, dug wells,</I> and <I>are soldiers</I> are all predicates. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Logic.) that which is said of the subject in a proposition; the second term in a proposition. (Examples:) No feathered animals are <I>elephants.</I> All birds are <I>feathered animals.</I> No birds are <I>elephants.</I> In the three propositions of this syllogism, <I>elephants, feathered animals,</I> and <I>elephants</I> are predicates. <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>(Grammar.) belonging to the predicate. In "Horses are strong," <I>strong</I> is a predicate adjective. In "The men are soldiers" <I>soldiers</I> is a predicate noun. <BR> <I>Ex. When the predicate tells more than one thing about the subject, it is called a compound predicate (Harold B. Allen).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>predicated. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to found or base (as a statement or action) on something. <DD><B> 2. </B>to declare, assert, or affirm to be real or true. <BR> <I>Ex. Most religions predicate life after death.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to connote; imply. <DD><B> 4. </B>to declare to be an attribute or quality (of some person or thing). <BR> <I>Ex. We predicate goodness and mercy of God.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>(Logic.) <DD><B> a. </B>to state or assert (something) about the subject of a proposition. <DD><B> b. </B>to make (a term) the predicate in a proposition. <DD><B> 6. </B>(Informal.) to predict. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to make a statement; assert; affirm. <BR> <I>Ex. Your mentality, too, is bully, as we all predicate (Max Beerbohm).</I> </DL>
<B>predicate nominative,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a noun or pronoun complement that follows a linking verb. </DL>
<A NAME="predication">
<B>predication, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act or fact of predicating; affirming; assertion. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Grammar.) the use of predicates. <BR> <I>Ex. It may confidently be assumed that predication is common to all Indo-European languages (Simeon Potter).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>something predicated. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Logic.) the assertion of something about or of a subject. </DL>
<A NAME="predicative">
<B>predicative, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>predicating; expressing predication. <DD><B> 2. </B>acting as a predicate. adv. <B>predicatively.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="predicatory">
<B>predicatory, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of or having to do with a preacher; preaching. <DD><B> 2. </B>characterized by being proclaimed or preached. </DL>
<A NAME="predict">
<B>predict, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to announce or tell beforehand; forecast; prophesy. <BR> <I>Ex. The weather service predicts rain for tomorrow.</I> (SYN) foretell, presage. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to utter prediction; prophesy. adv. <B>predictably.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="predictability">
<B>predictability, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the quality of being predictable. </DL>
<A NAME="predictable">
<B>predictable, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> that can be predicted. <BR> <I>Ex. Every generation demonstrates some events to be regular and predictable, which the preceding generation had declared to be irregular and unpredictable (Henry T. Buckle).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="prediction">
<B>prediction, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a thing predicted; prophecy. <BR> <I>Ex. The official predictions about the weather often come true. Many authorities ... insist economists should never make precise predictions (Newsweek).</I> (SYN) augury,prognostication. <DD><B> 2. </B>the act of predicting. </DL>
<A NAME="predictive">
<B>predictive, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> foretelling; prophetic. <BR> <I>Ex. There is probably more interest in their methodological approach than in the predictive powers of their theories (F. H. George).</I> adv. <B>predictively.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="predictor">
<B>predictor, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person or thing that predicts or foretells. <DD><B> 2. </B>an instrument that calculates fire data on moving targets, especially aircraft. </DL>
<A NAME="predigest">
<B>predigest, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to treat (food by an artificial process similar to digestion, in order to make it more easily digestible. <DD><B> 2. </B>to digest beforehand. <BR> <I>Ex. Foods are pre-mixed, pre-breaded, pre-fried--everything but predigested (Harper's). (Figurative.) Everything is predigested for us (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="predigestion">
<B>predigestion, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the digestion (of food) by artificial means before introduction into the stomach. </DL>
<A NAME="predikant">
<B>predikant, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a clergyman of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa. </DL>
<A NAME="predilection">
<B>predilection, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a liing; preference. <BR> <I>Ex. In spite of her predilection for my powerful rival, she liked to flirt with me (Washington Irving).</I> (SYN) partiality, predisposition. </DL>
