1
as in prelude
a performance, activity, or event that precedes and sets the stage for the main event
the round of hors d'oeuvres was merely the preamble to an evening of lavish feasting
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in introduction
a short section (as of a book) that leads to or explains the main part
an insightful analysis of the preamble to the Constitution of the United States
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of preamble
The definition of preamble is: The introductory part of a statute or deed, stating its purpose, aims, and justification.
—
Jim Weygand, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025
Since the time limit was in the preamble to the amendment and not in the text of the amendment itself - much less the text that the states saw and voted on - the seven-year deadline is not binding: a position that Mr. Biden seemed to take himself.
—Eva Epker, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025
This is just a preamble for James Austin Johnson’s Donald Trump to comment on the first week of his presidency.
—Andy Hoglund, EW.com, 26 Jan. 2025
The rest of your preamble spoke to Stanley’s usage, referencing healthy scratches last year and overuse this season, while wondering why Ville Heinola wasn’t getting the same opportunity.
—Murat Ates, The Athletic, 24 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for preamble
Jim Weygand, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025
Since the time limit was in the preamble to the amendment and not in the text of the amendment itself - much less the text that the states saw and voted on - the seven-year deadline is not binding: a position that Mr. Biden seemed to take himself.
—Eva Epker, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025
This is just a preamble for James Austin Johnson’s Donald Trump to comment on the first week of his presidency.
—Andy Hoglund, EW.com, 26 Jan. 2025
The rest of your preamble spoke to Stanley’s usage, referencing healthy scratches last year and overuse this season, while wondering why Ville Heinola wasn’t getting the same opportunity.
—Murat Ates, The Athletic, 24 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for preamble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for preamble
Noun
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Image Lacking indoor plumbing, the family basked in this sauna as a prelude to bathing in the cold lake.—
Julie Lasky,
New York Times,
4 Apr. 2025
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At one point, during our game, my mother-in-law said that dominoes could be used to speak to the dead, a comment that had no prelude and which received no verbal response from anyone at the table.—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
2 Apr. 2025
Noun
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What followed was a proper introduction to Clairo, highlighting her support of Gaza and women’s rights.—
Steven J. Horowitz,
Variety,
13 Apr. 2025
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The dodo’s extinction in the late 1600s, shortly after the arrival of European colonists on Mauritius, was driven by a combination of habitat destruction, hunting and the introduction of non-native animals.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
12 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Late preliminaries available on ESPN+, ESPN, Disney+, and ESPN Deportes at 8 p.m. ET.—
Jim Varsallone,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2025
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While the diving kicked off Thursday, the swimming gets underway with preliminaries on Friday, with the finals for both swimming and diving slated for Saturday.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
6 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Writing on the seventieth anniversary of the war’s end, in the preface to his magisterial The German War (2015), Oxford’s Nicholas Stargardt described the book’s genesis a decade earlier, in 2005.—
Chris Doyle,
Hartford Courant,
2 Apr. 2025
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As for Dickinson, his starring roles in Babygirl, The Iron Claw, and Triangle of Sadness preface his take on John Lennon.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
1 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Construction Nudes 1981-1985 is designed by Sean Adams and edited by Frank Rodriguez with a foreword by Lucas Museum of Narrative Art curator Ryan Linkof, Ph.D.—
Lee Sharrock,
Forbes,
11 Mar. 2025
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Zucker kicked things off in the book’s foreword writing about seeing and collecting pointed diamonds from the 15th century and earlier — a point that helped Fasel to unlock a myth that engagement rings are an invention of the 20th century.—
Thomas Waller,
WWD,
16 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Preamble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/preamble. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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