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Definition of "prefatory" [pref•a•to•ry]

  • Of, relating to, or constituting a preface; introductory. See Synonyms at preliminary. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "prefatory" in a sentence
  • "While others seem to have omitted the important detail of everything, what you put forward prefatory is unconstrained and perfectly stated."
  • "The question-begging leap of logic here is Posner's interjection of "since," when dealing with the connection between the what's known as the prefatory and operative clauses of the 2nd Amendment."
  • "By reading the amendment backwards, Scalia begins with an unfettered right "to keep and bear arms" (look, that's what it says!), and, having established such a right, the mere "prefatory" words of the first half of the amendment become nothing more than window dressing."