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Showing results for preparative. Search instead for preparatives.
Synonyms

preparative

American  
[pri-par-uh-tiv, -pair-] / prɪˈpær ə tɪv, -ˈpɛər- /

adjective

  1. preparatory.


noun

  1. something that prepares.

  2. a preparation.

preparative British  
/ prɪˈpærətɪv /

adjective

  1. serving to prepare; preparatory

"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

noun

  1. something that prepares

"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

Etymology

Origin of preparative

1400–50; late Middle English preparatif < Middle French < Medieval Latin praeparātīvus. See preparation, -ive

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:

The catch-22 is that while stem cell transplants can prevent this failure, the usual preparative chemotherapy or radiation can cause severe complications or even cancer.

From Science Daily Nov. 7, 2025

However, preparative mass spectrometry could soon open up completely new possibilities for these applications, for example, in the production of microchips, solar cells or biologically active coatings.

From Science Daily Nov. 3, 2023

These preparative mass spectrometers can be used to produce chemical compounds in a new way.

From Science Daily Nov. 3, 2023

Another preparative method is the electrochemical oxidation of a hot solution of a metal halide to form the appropriate metal chlorates.

From Textbooks Feb. 14, 2019

By such a perversion of public worship, joined with an affectation of disinterested purity, that celebrated preparative for military despotism, the self-denying ordinance was introduced into the Commons.

From The Loyalists, Vol. 1-3 An Historical Novel by West, Jane

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