Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To make impossible, as by action taken in advance; prevent. See Synonyms at prevent.
- v. To exclude or prevent (someone) from a given condition or activity: Modesty precludes me from accepting the honor.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To close; stop up; shut; prevent access to.
- To shut out; hinder by excluding; prevent; impede.
- To prevent by anticipative action; render in-effectual or unsuccessful; hinder the action of.
- Synonyms To prevent, bar, debar, prohibit.
Wiktionary
- v. transitive Remove the possibility of; rule out; prevent or exclude; to make impossible.
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To put a barrier before; hence, to shut out; to hinder; to stop; to impede.
- v. To shut out by anticipative action; to prevent or hinder by necessary consequence or implication; to deter action of, access to, employment of, etc.; to render ineffectual; to obviate by anticipation.
WordNet 3.0
- v. make impossible, especially beforehand
- v. keep from happening or arising; make impossible
Etymologies
- Latin praeclūdere : prae-, pre- + claudere, to close. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“And yet this device's size, weight and inability to make phone calls preclude it from replacing a smartphone.”
“That would kind of preclude charging them interest, too … stevie314159 says:”
“The bizarre logic behind this idea is that the facts of evolution do not "preclude" the existence of god.”
“Mr. Schurz made an inquiry of Mr. Howe as to the grounds upon which the senator was to be deposed; and the answer was that "the personal relations between the senator from Massachusetts and the President of the United States and the head of the State Department are such as preclude all social intercourse between them.”
“Gates said he did not want to "preclude" the discussion and it will be up to the incoming commandant, Gen. James Amos, if confirmed by the Senate, to undertake that "intellectual effort.”
“For example, a student uses "preclude" instead of "precede" when talking about one event coming before another.”
“And yet 'preclude' is not a particularly erudite term.”
“Daniel Pike, the acting director of the Pentagon's office of African affairs, said that while there was no "intention at this point" to go after pirates inside Somalia, the US Defense Department doesn't "preclude" doing so in the future.”
“Lincoln will not 'preclude' herself from voting 'no' on health care reform.”
“preclude" ad hominem assaults on the vulnerable and helpless.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘preclude’.
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1100
abound, technology, branch of knowled..., prognosticate, automaton, matron, an older married ..., realm, special field of ..., kingdom, annals, historical records and 981 more...
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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important
shamanism, consol, sanguine, iffy, affinity, concatenation, honed, innumberable, aiden, inexorable, vet, suss and 176 more...
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Words
phantasmagoria, eviscerate, avast, simulacrum, varicose, oblique, gestalt, ersatz, vernal, vivace, stellate, synecdoche and 330 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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GRE 2014
abate, abdicate, abase, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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common UA vocab. in US
Interesting, there is a traditional vocabulary of an Ukrainian, that differs from vocabulary of average American. It would be nice to explore it.
jackdaw, incongruous, cassock, vivid, magpie, humdrum, amongst, wonder, wandering, wheedling, wheedle, osseous and 368 more...
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Filter 1
Hard words level 1
besotted, altricial, consecrate, consternate, desuetude, detractor, dissolute, divisive, emaciated, enamored, ensconce, garishly and 76 more...
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List 2(starting at 260)
mammoth, overt, valor, aspire, relegate, bias, incisive, scurry, precipitate, singular, inveigh, repulse and 48 more...
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GRE 1100
drudgery, implore, hapless, nuance, wrest, incipient, inadvertent, tremulous, bristle, euphemism, disdain, pugnacious and 346 more...
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GRE Practice
coruscate, preternatural, preclude, retrench, perfidy, sophistry, sedulous, martinet, churlish, dissembler, prevarication, impugn and 38 more...
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GRE Words From GRE Tests
risqué, wafted, improvisation, retrench, rebuked, perfidy, sophistry, sedulous, coruscate, debilitating, preternatural, teleological and 5 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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gre2
aberrant, aberration, aboveboard, abrasive, abstemious, acme, admonish, affable, affluent, alacrity, allegory, alleviate and 1856 more...
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MyList
peter out, fraying, jump on the bandw..., indignation, eclectic, hung up, salutary, hoary, warped, glaring, blue-collar, concomitant and 105 more...
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1100 words you need to know
GRE words
voracious, indiscriminate, eminent, steeped, replete, abound, technology, prognosticate, automaton, matron, paradox, realm and 288 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for preclude.
kingparton In our times, the increasing complexity of our civilization would seem to preclude any serious thought of recapturing the harmony possible only in an age of grace and simplicity.
José Enrique Rodó, Ariel Oct 30, 2011