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preliminary

/pɹɪˈlɪmɪnɛɹi/noun, adjective5 syllables

Preliminary means: denoting an action or event preceding or in preparation for something more important.

Synonyms for preliminary8

noun, as in something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows

overture, prelude

noun, as in a minor match preceding the main event

prelim

adjective, as in denoting an action or event preceding or in preparation for something more important

exploratory, explorative

also used for preliminary

Includes material from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What does preliminary mean?3

adjective

1

denoting an action or event preceding or in preparation for something more important“a preliminary investigation”

noun

1

something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows“training is a necessary preliminary to employment”

2

a minor match preceding the main event

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Preliminary in a sentence

  • Before we begin, a number of preliminary remarks are in order.darinmex
  • Preliminary planning has begun, though a construction date is yet to be announced.CM
  • The professor's preliminary comments were long, but he was headed somewhere.Serveto
  • Regretfully, the Japanese representative was eliminated at the preliminary stage.tsp_2
  • After the encouraging preliminary results, the mood at campaign headquarters was one of cautious optimism.AlanF_US
  • The inquiry's preliminary findings have been published.sundown
  • Tom is already aware of the problem and has introduced preliminary countermeasures.sundown

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.

Forms of preliminary

as a noun

plural
preliminaries