preferential
[pref-uh-ren-shuh l]
- of, relating to, or of the nature of preference: preferential policies.
- showing or giving preference: a preferential hiring system.
- receiving or enjoying preference, as a country in trade relations; favored.
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Origin of preferential
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for preferential
Contemporary Examples
Hall even made it clear that his problem is less with the preferential admissions, but with the lack of transparency.
Either way, part of the tragedy and poignancy of polio is its preferential spread to babies and toddlers.
The preferential ballot will definitely favor Gravity, which I felt was a superior film anyway.
And the Best Picture Oscar Goes to… ‘12 Years A Slave,’ ‘Gravity,’ or ‘American Hustle?’Kevin Fallon, Marlow Stern
March 1, 2014
“Crony capitalism,” for example, typically refers to preferential relationships between politicians and business interests.
The academy changed the voting rules this year to include 10 Best Picture nominees with preferential ballots.
Historical Examples
Proportional representation and preferential voting I have mentioned.
A Preface to PoliticsWalter Lippmann
Preferential trade was the alternative path to imperial federation.
The Canadian DominionOscar D. Skelton
With that end no one will quarrel; but how will preferential trade promote it?
Are we Ruined by the Germans?Harold Cox
Is the preferential shop so delicate a fabric as to prove futile?
Making Both Ends MeetSue Ainslie Clark and Edith Wyatt
This city should elect its municipal officers by preferential voting.
The Making of ArgumentsJ. H. Gardiner
preferential
- showing or resulting from preference
- giving, receiving, or originating from preference in international trade
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for preferential
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper