preface
Americannoun
-
prefaces
plural
-
a preliminary statement in a book by the book's author or editor, setting forth its purpose and scope, expressing acknowledgment of assistance from others, etc.
- Antonyms:
- appendix
-
an introductory part, as of a speech.
- Antonyms:
- epilogue
-
something preliminary or introductory.
The meeting was the preface to an alliance.
- Antonyms:
- epilogue
-
Ecclesiastical. a prayer of thanksgiving, the introduction to the canon of the Mass, ending with the Sanctus.
verb (used with object)
-
prefaces,
present (3rd person singular)
-
prefaced,
past participle, past
-
prefacing
present participle
-
to provide with or introduce by a preface.
-
to serve as a preface to.
noun
-
a statement written as an introduction to a literary or other work, typically explaining its scope, intention, method, etc; foreword
-
anything introductory
-
RC Church a prayer of thanksgiving and exhortation serving as an introduction to the canon of the Mass
verb
-
to furnish with a preface
-
to serve as a preface to
Synonym Usage
See introduction.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
prefacesimple
-
prefacessimple
-
have prefacedperfect
-
has prefacedperfect
-
am prefacingprogressive
-
are prefacingprogressive
-
is prefacingprogressive
-
have been prefacingperfect progressive
-
has been prefacingperfect progressive
Past
-
prefacedsimple
-
had prefacedperfect
-
was prefacingprogressive
-
were prefacingprogressive
-
had been prefacingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of preface
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin prēfātia, for Latin praefātiō “a saying beforehand,” equivalent to praefāt(us) (past participle of praefārī “to say beforehand”; see pre-, fate) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
A preface is an introduction to the main text of a book, when an author or critic can write directly to the reader. A preface often describes how a book came together, like a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the final product. The preface is a place for extra context, thoughts, or even disclaimers about the text that follows. In his preface to Lyrical Ballads, the famous poet William Wordsworth wrote, “The majority of the following poems are to be considered as experiments.” In other words, “Don’t judge me too harshly!” Preface can also be used as a verb meaning "introduce." When you preface a statement with, “No offense but... ,” the person you’re talking to braces for criticism.
Vocabulary lists containing preface
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 20–25
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
National Librarian Day
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Selecting and Evaluating Sources and Research Report
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
As they note in a preface to “20 Over 60,” the two of them had assumed when collaborating on their previous anthology that older age was “mostly about decline.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
We’re happy to preface that no act this year was overwhelmingly horrendous, like the Go-Go’s last year at Cruel World.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
In a brief preface Mr. Hoffman has also told us about wrens colonizing an abandoned swallows’ nest above the door of the house he shares with his wife, Julia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
With prose so heartfelt and insightful, I was in tears by the preface.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
First, in a rather over-generous preface, the Lynceans gave Galileo credit for discovering sunspots.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
What I have recounted is what Segal called her ur-story, and some version of it prefaces every article written about her.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
This is how New Orleans community organizer Malik Rahim prefaces the calm before “Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time” plunges into one of the deadliest storms in American history.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2025
Benedict then largely kept to his word that he would live a life of prayer in retirement, emerging only occasionally from his converted monastery for special events and writing occasional book prefaces and messages.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 31, 2022
Here, the tension was a child’s divided life due to a parent’s divorce, and the volta begins with, “But let me say ...” which prefaces the final beautiful five lines.
From New York Times ● May 5, 2022
The writers of books on insect behavior generally take pains, in their prefaces, to caution that insects are like creatures from another planet, that their behavior is absolutely foreign, totally unhuman, unearthly, almost unbiological.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
While “The Long Run’s” subtitle suggests a portrait of “The Decade That Made the Marathon Cool,” that decade—the 1970s—is prefaced by more than 100 pages of history.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
Answers tend to be prefaced with the word 'we' rather than 'me'.
From BBC ● Mar. 1, 2026
Elsewhere, pro-Palestinian demonstrations prefaced Italy's vital win over Israel and Spain took another step towards qualification with a big victory against Bulgaria.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2025
Hopp prefaced the discussion by noting that any single survey can involve statistical flukes that make it hard to form any definitive conclusions.
From Slate ● Jun. 3, 2025
Some days, many days, only a death toll was announced, prefaced by a reiteration of the general situation.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
“I am not prone to hyperbole. I am prone to, like, popping off a little bit. I know that,” Walz said, prefacing his argument that Americans are living in a “dangerous” time.
From Salon ● Jun. 14, 2025
Afterward, two staff members led a discussion with the students, prefacing that talk with a disclaimer saying that they were not speaking on behalf of the university.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2025
Merchan briefly discussed the transcript issue with jurors and Necheles proceeded to show them the correct version, prefacing her remarks with a mea culpa: “Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for that error.”
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 1, 2022
I was civil and specific, prefacing my list of what went wrong with the acknowledgment that the pandemic has long been a challenge for the entire industry, and holidays are never easy.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 17, 2022
“I’ve come to ask you to accompany us,” Blanca said without prefacing her remarks.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
