precatory
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of precatory
1630–40; < Late Latin precātōrius, equivalent to Latin precā ( rī ) to pray, entreat + -tōrius -tory 1
Explanation
Anything that's precatory has something to do with hoping or wishing for something, rather than requiring it. If your school's dress code is precatory, it's more of a suggestion than a hard and fast rule. Precatory is a formal (and rare) adjective that means "entreating" or "requesting." A precatory list of school supplies, for example, would be things the teacher hopes each student will bring on the first day, rather than required items. You're more likely to find this word in legal documents, especially wills, where it distinguishes something legally binding from something simply expressing a hope: "The provision made for care of her seventeen cats by her niece is merely precatory."
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.
As a so-called precatory proposal, it is not legally binding on the company.
From New York Times ● Mar. 1, 2014
Very true, religion has operated mainly with precatory rites for the purpose of deflecting God's wrath, or, as Mr. James would say, with some sneaking design upon His bounty.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 12, No. 69, July, 1863 by Various
“Make your mind easy, amiga!” counselled the Condesa Almonté in less precatory tone.
From The Free Lances A Romance of the Mexican Valley by Reid, Mayne
For this reason, recommendatory or precatory words used in a bequest are frequently treated as an express direction.
From History of Woman Suffrage, Volume III by Stanton, Elizabeth Cady
The blessing at the end of the office should stand, as in the English Book, in the precatory form; otherwise we might have the anomaly of a benediction pronounced before the end of the service.
From A Short History of the Book of Common Prayer by Huntington, William Reed
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.
