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Synonyms

preparedness

American  
[pri-pair-id-nis, -paird-nis] / prɪˈpɛər ɪd nɪs, -ˈpɛərd nɪs /

noun

  1. the state of being prepared; prepare; readiness.

  2. possession of adequate armed forces, industrial resources and potential, etc., especially as a deterrent to enemy attack.

preparedness British  
/ prɪˈpɛərɪdnɪs /

noun

  1. the state of being prepared or ready, esp militarily ready for war

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • preparedly adverb
  • unpreparedness noun

Etymology

Origin of preparedness

First recorded in 1580–90; prepared + -ness

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.

Japan’s southwest capabilities, he said, are intended to signal its preparedness to China, but there is a problem: “We don’t know how much is enough,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

Past councils have weighed in on everything from pandemic preparedness to quantum computing to clean energy.

From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026

County Office of Emergency Management officials acknowledged the text message from Vaquero and said it related to an earlier discussion among emergency management partners and the weather service about possibly sending a weather preparedness notification.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026

You might guess that Ahtoniemi is a soldier in the Finnish army, but his preparedness is instead related to his work at nationwide supermarket business S Group.

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026

They agreed to raise the Soviet military’s level of preparedness.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

Definitions 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.