Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

preferential

/ˈpɹɛf.ɜː(ɹ)ˌɛn.ʃəl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.21 in modern English

Syllables
pref-er-en-tial
IPA
/ˈpɹɛf.ɜː(ɹ)ˌɛn.ʃəl/
17
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
4
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of or relating to the showing or giving of preference.

adj

Of or relating to a voting system in which the voters are allowed to indicate on their ballots their preference (usually their first and second choices) between two or more candidates, so that if no candidate receives a majority of first choices the one receiving the greatest number of first and second choices together is the winner.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Medieval Latin preferentia + -al.

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • British English: /ˈpɹɛf.ɜː(ɹ)ˌɛn.ʃəl/

Inflected Forms

more preferential (comparative) most preferential (superlative) preferrential (alternative)

Derived Forms

antipreferential nonpreferential nonpreferentially preferentiality preferentially unpreferential unpreferentially

Phrases

preferential attachment preferential treatment preferential voting

Synonyms

discriminatory

Rhymes With

potential essential non-essential presidential residential influential confidential differential existential exponential sequential prudential

Questions

How do you pronounce preferential?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈpɹɛf.ɜː(ɹ)ˌɛn.ʃəl/.
What does preferential mean?
Of or relating to the showing or giving of preference.
Where does preferential come from?
From Medieval Latin preferentia + -al.

How to pronounce preferential

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “preferential”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈpɹɛf.ɜː(ɹ)ˌɛn.ʃəl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “preferential”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “preferential” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.