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pre • ciseAWL / pri ' sais / adjective

exactly right

I gave him precise instructions on how to get to my house.

pre • cise • lyAWL / pri 'saisli / adverb They arrived at two o'clock precisely.

pre • ci • sion AWL / pri 'si3n / noun [noncount]

the quality of being clear or exact

The plans were drawn with great precision.

pred • a • tor / ' predstsr / noun [ count ]

( BIOLOGY ) an animal that kills and eats other animals

pred • e • ces • sor / ' preds,sessr /noun [count]

the person who did a job before the person who does it now She was hired by my predecessor.

pre • dic • a • ment / pri diksmsnt / noun [ count ]

an unpleasant and difficult situation that is hard to get out of

pre • dictaw / pri ' dikt /

( pre - dicts , pre - dict - ing , pre - dict - ed )

to say what you think will happen

She predicted that it would rain, and she was right.

pre • dict • a • ble AWL| / pri 'diktsbl / adjective

that was or could be expected to happen predictable results

pre • dic • tion AWL| / pridikjn / noun

[ count, noncount ]

saying what will happen; what someone thinks will happen The results confirmed our predictions.

pref • ace / prefss / noun [ count ]

( ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS ) a piece of writing at the beginning of a book that explains what it is about or why it was written

pre .fer Ф / pn'for / verb

( pre - fers , pre - fer - ring , pre - ferred )

to like one thing or person better than another Would you prefer tea or coffee? I would prefer to stay at home. He prefers going out to studying.

pref • er • a • ble / prefsrsbl / adjective

better or more suitable

I think living in the country is preferable to living in the city.

pref • er • a • bly / ' prefsrsbli / adverb

Call me Sunday morning, but preferably not too early!

pref • er • ence / ' prefsrsns / noun

[ count, noncount ]

a feeling that you like one thing or person better than another

We have lemonade and orange juice — do you have a preference?

pre • fix / prifiks / noun [ count ] ( plural pre . fix - es )

( ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS ) a group of letters that you add to

the beginning of a word to make another word

The prefix "im-" means "not," so "impossible" means "not

possible." —Look at suffix .

preg • nan • cy / ' pregnsnsi / noun

[ count, noncount ] ( plural preg - nan - cies )

( HEALTH ) the state of being pregnant Many women feel sick during pregnancy .

preg . nant О / 'pregnant / adjective

( HEALTH ) If a woman is pregnant , she has a baby

growing in her body

She's five months pregnant.

pre • his • tor • ic / |prihi ' storik / adjective

( HISTORY ) from the time in history before events were written down prehistoric animals

prej•u • dice / pred3adis / noun

[ count, noncount ]

a strong idea that you do not like someone or something, for a reason that is wrong or unfair She was a victim of racial prejudice. ► prej • u • diced / ' pred3adist / adjective

He is prejudiced against me because I'm a woman.

pre • lim • i • nar • y / pri ' lima|neri / adjective

happening before something else that is more important After a few preliminary remarks, the discussions began.

pre • ma • ture / |prima ' tfnr / adjective

happening before the expected time

Her baby was premature ( = born before the expected time ) .

pre • mier / primir / noun [ count ]