What does "preparatory" mean?

Of or pertaining to preparation, having the purpose of making something or someone ready, preparative.

What is a synonym for "preparatory"?

Common synonyms include: preparative, antecedent, anterior, basic, before, chief.

How do you pronounce "preparatory"?

Pronounced //ˈpɹɛp(ə)ɹətɔɹi//.

Preparatory

//ˈpɹɛp(ə)ɹətɔɹi// adj

adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective

1
Of or pertaining to preparation, having the purpose of making something or someone ready, preparative. not-comparable
"I will conduct some preparatory research before choosing the new restaurant's location."

Adjective

1
preceding and preparing for something wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

preparative antecedent anterior basic before chief

Example

More examples

"Defoe praised the preparatory work by London's mayor and the city's councilmen, as well as the College of Physicians, in their efforts to contain the plague."

Etymology

From Middle English preparatori, from Late Latin praeparatorius. By surface analysis, prepare + -atory.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.