Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

preference

/ˈpɹɛf(ə)ɹ(ə)ns/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.11 in modern English

Syllables: pref-er-ence
IPA: /ˈpɹɛf(ə)ɹ(ə)ns/

17

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The selection of one thing or person over others (with the main adposition being "for" in relation to the thing or person, but possibly also "of")

Countable; Uncountable

noun

The option to so select, and the one selected.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

The state of being preferred over others.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A strong liking or personal valuation.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A preferential bias; partiality; discrimination.

Countable; Uncountable

verb

To give preferential treatment to; to give a preference to.

American usage

noun

Preferans, a card game, principally played in Eastern Europe.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

"He has a preference for crisp wines."
"Can I keep my preferences when I upgrade to the new version of this application?"
"Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet. Perhaps we assume that our name, address and search preferences will be viewed by some unseen pair of corporate eyes, probably not human, and don't mind that much."

Etymology

From Middle French preference, from Medieval Latin preferentia. Doublet of preferans. Morphologically prefer + -ence. Compare typologically Russian предвзя́тость (predvzjátostʹ) (<< взять (vzjatʹ), a suppletive of брать (bratʹ), which is cognate with Latin ferō).

Origin

Source language: Middle French

Word Breakdown

Root: *bʰer-, preference, -
Suffix: prefer

Usage

Inflected Forms

preferences (plural) preferences (present, singular) preferencing (participle, present) preferenced (participle, past) preferenced (past)

Derived Forms

depreference dispreference enantiopreference isopreference nonpreference photopreference preferendum stereopreference subpreference thermopreference

Phrases

affectional preference in preference to preference cascade preference share preference stock revealed preference sexual preference time preference

Frequently Paired Words

preferences

Synonyms

druthers way forechoice predilection orientation penchant taste

Rhymes With

reference deference

Questions

How do you pronounce preference?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈpɹɛf(ə)ɹ(ə)ns/.
What does preference mean?: The selection of one thing or person over others (with the main adposition being "for" in relation to the thing or person, but possibly also "of")
Where does preference come from?: It is traced to Middle French.

How to pronounce preference

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