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as in prelude
a performance, activity, or event that precedes and sets the stage for the main event the round of hors d'oeuvres was merely the preamble to an evening of lavish feasting

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 preamble Unless needed for clarity, avoid long preambles. Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2025 The story of the backchannel through Belarus, in other words, could become the preamble to Ukraine’s capitulation. Simon Shuster, Time, 8 Aug. 2025 Lewis, meanwhile, was finishing what would turn out to be his last essay for the Quarterly, the preamble for the issue on Energy, originally scheduled to appear in the summer of 2023. Literary Hub, 13 June 2025 The celebrity round was the preamble to the 45th Ryder Cup, kicking off Friday with Europe defending its crown from the 2023 tournament. Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019 See All Example Sentences for preamble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for preamble
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
  • Or at least that is what Thorkelín said in the preface to his edition, when it was finally published in 1815 (along with a Latin translation).
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Oct. 2025
  • And to preface, these are optional.
    Bon Appétit, Bon Appetit Magazine, 9 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Lukasiak wrote the foreword for her book.
    Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 30 Oct. 2025
  • The newest ebook edition of Slow Horses author Mick Herron‘s novel Down Cemetery Road begins with a foreword by Emma Thompson.
    Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 29 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Preamble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/preamble. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.

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