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precondition

[ pree-kuh n-dish-uh n ]
/ ˌpri kənˈdɪʃ ən /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR precondition ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

something that must come before or is necessary to a subsequent result; condition: a precondition for a promotion.

verb (used with object)

to subject (a person or thing) to a special treatment in preparation for a subsequent experience, process, test, etc.: to precondition a surface to receive paint.

RELATED WORDS

requirement, qualification, arrangement, necessity, requisite, stipulation, provision, essential, prerequisite, exception, proviso, terms, exemption, codicil, contingency, rule, modification, need, kicker, demand

Nearby words

preconceived, preconception, preconceptual stage, preconcert, precondemn, precondition, preconize, preconquest, preconscious, preconsciously, preconsonantal

Origin of precondition

First recorded in 1910–15; pre- + condition
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for precondition

British Dictionary definitions for precondition

precondition

/ (ˌpriːkənˈdɪʃən) /

noun

a necessary or required condition; prerequisite

verb

(tr) psychol to present successively two stimuli to (an organism) without reinforcement so that they become associated; if a response is then conditioned to the second stimulus on its own, the same response will be evoked by the first stimulus
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

Word Origin and History for precondition

precondition

n.

1825, from pre- + condition (n.). As a verb from 1841.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper