preparedness
Americannoun
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the state of being prepared; readiness.
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possession of adequate armed forces, industrial resources and potential, etc., especially as a deterrent to enemy attack.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of preparedness
Explanation
Preparedness is a condition of being completely ready for something, especially some kind of disaster. Your family's preparedness for an approaching hurricane might include an evacuation plan. The noun preparedness has been around since the 16th century, originally simply meaning "a state of being prepared." That definition is still used today, but it's more common when talking about something potentially devastating, like a war or a natural disaster. If you live on an earthquake fault line, your town's preparedness may consist of emergency shelters and reinforced buildings. A country's military preparedness is its readiness to fight a war or defend itself.
Vocabulary lists containing preparedness
Haiti Earthquake One-Year Report
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Unit 8, Week 3
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The Suffix -ness, Part 3
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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.
Jackson eventually convinced his school administrators to let him lead a separate class on financial literacy and college preparedness, which he teaches today to high-school seniors.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026
About 20 percent more members of the security forces will be deployed this weekend following questions over police preparedness and intelligence gathering ahead of last week's violence.
From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has made headlines in today's papers after launching a national campaign on public preparedness for disruption caused by natural disasters and cyber attacks.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
Horvath, whose district takes in 2 million people, said Raman will shake up the status quo, bringing a new approach to homelessness, housing affordability, emergency preparedness and other issues.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
On this occasion the king released political prisoners, remitted taxes, endowed temples, forgave rebels, increased military preparedness and, in short, did all the things that modern rulers do when they wish to stay in office.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
