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The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms INTRO ...

The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms INTRO ...

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n. prerequisite, stipulation, condition, essential, must, sine<br />

qua non, imperative, requirement, proviso, provision,<br />

qualification, necessity: <strong>The</strong> release <strong>of</strong> the prisoners is a<br />

precondition for talks. Is great humanity a precondition <strong>of</strong><br />

great music, or is it just a matter <strong>of</strong> the notes?<br />

precursor n. 1 harbinger, herald, vanguard: <strong>The</strong> glow on the eastern<br />

horizon is the precursor <strong>of</strong> another day. 2 See predecessor, 1,<br />

below<br />

predatory adj. 1 predacious or predaceous, carnivorous, preying,<br />

raptorial: Despite domestication, dogs and cats are predatory<br />

animals. 2 rapacious, ravenous, plundering, robbing, pillaging,<br />

marauding, despoiling, looting, piratical, vulturine,<br />

avaricious, greedy, voracious, larcenous, thieving,<br />

extortionate, usurious: Predatory pirates once ravaged the<br />

Mediterranean. Keep out <strong>of</strong> the hands <strong>of</strong> predatory money-lenders,<br />

my son.<br />

predecessor<br />

n. 1 forerunner, predecessor, antecedent: I could not match<br />

the accomplishments <strong>of</strong> my predecessor in this post. 2 forebear,<br />

forefather, ancestor, antecedent: Can you name the Tudor<br />

predecessors <strong>of</strong> Elizabeth I?<br />

predestination<br />

n. destiny, future, lot, fortune, kismet, karma; doom, fate;<br />

foreordainment, foreordination: Meeting like this must have<br />

been predestination.<br />

predetermined<br />

adj. 1 fixed, prearranged, pre-established, set (up), foregone,<br />

preplanned, pre-set: A predetermined amount <strong>of</strong> milk is<br />

automatically poured into each cup <strong>of</strong> c<strong>of</strong>fee. 2 fated, doomed,<br />

destined, ordained, foreordained, Colloq cut and dried, Brit on<br />

the cards, US in the cards: One gets the feeling that the<br />

outcome was predetermined.<br />

predicament<br />

n. dilemma, quandary, difficulty, trial, situation, state,<br />

condition, imbroglio, emergency, crisis, impasse, Colloq pickle,<br />

jam, fix, pinch, scrape, spot, bind, corner, hole, mess, US box:<br />

I was hoping that you might help me out <strong>of</strong> a very awkward

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