preparatory

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /prɪˈpɛrəˌtɔri/ UK /prɪˈpærətri/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
serving as or carried out in preparation for something

He attended a preparatory school before university.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · serving as or carried out... preliminary introductorypreparativeprefatoryinitial

Opposites

concluding final

Word family

Related forms prepare preparationpreparative

Etymology

From Late Latin praeparatorius, from Latin praeparare ('to prepare'), from prae- ('before') + parare ('to make ready').

praeparare Latin parare Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# preparatory

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /prɪˈpɛrəˌtɔri/
**IPA (UK):** /prɪˈpærətri/

## Meanings
1. serving as or carried out in preparation for something

## Examples
- He attended a preparatory school before university.

## Synonyms
- preliminary
- introductory
- preparative
- prefatory
- initial

## Antonyms
- concluding
- final

## Related Forms
- prepare
- preparation
- preparative

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: praeparare
- Root: parare

## Etymology
From Late Latin praeparatorius, from Latin praeparare ('to prepare'), from prae- ('before') + parare ('to make ready').

## AI Etymology
Preparatory is from Late Latin praeparatorius, from Latin praeparare ('to prepare'), from prae- ('before') + parare ('to make ready'). Important recorded forms include praeparare (Latin) and parare (Latin). Morphologically, the word preserves a built structure whose named elements carry the historical sense into English. The modern sense remains close to that composition, with the parts narrowing into a single lexical item. In current use it covers serving as or carried out in preparation for something. The wider family includes related words such as prepare, preparation, and preparative.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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