variants also prolog
1
as in prelude
a performance, activity, or event that precedes and sets the stage for the main event unfortunately, the burglary, which he committed while still a teen, was but a prologue to a wasted life of crime

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of prologue Deadline confirmed last month that WBD subsidiary New Line Cinema was having early discussions surrounding a prologue film. Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 22 Sep. 2025 Georgia will hope the past is prologue. Seth Emerson, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2025 Gregg previously appeared alongside Phoenix in Explorers (1985), then memorably chased Phoenix down in the opening prologue of Last Crusade. Sezin Devi Koehler September 1, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2025 Nemes and regular co-writer Clara Royer start with a prologue four years after the war when young Jewish boy Andor (played at that age by Tibor Martin Lobbert) is retrieved by his mother Klára (Andrea Waskovics) from the orphanage where he was placed as an infant. David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for prologue
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prologue
Noun
  • In Danis Tanovic’s underseen drama, Farrell plays an Irish war photographer who gets separated from his best friend and colleague in Iraqi Kurdistan in the prelude to Saddam Hussein’s 1988 extermination campaign against the Kurds.
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025
  • At first, the scene feels like an engrossing, elevating prelude.
    Ben Travers, IndieWire, 29 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The Geneva Watch Days saw the introduction of the TH-Carbonspring, a patented proprietary carbon hairsprings innovation a decade in the making by the Tag Heuer Lab in-house research and development hub.
    Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Tarantino will write introductions for each of the books and they will be released in 2026 and 2027, respectively.
    Andrew McGowan, Variety, 28 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Santana finished a weak fourth in the preliminary.
    Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 21 Oct. 2025
  • In 1988: Greg Louganis won the gold medal in the 3-meter springboard at the Seoul Olympics one day after hitting his head on the diving board during the preliminaries.
    Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • On this week's episode of The Kardashians, the Lemme co-founder, 46, joined her stepdaughter Alabama, 19, to film an intro for her Twitch stream.
    Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Halloween Night will be their intro into two dances.
    McKinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 28 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Prologue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prologue. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.

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