as in introduction
a short section (as of a book) that leads to or explains the main part
a noted critic has written a short preface to her story to explain some of the historical background
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Recent Examples of preface
International execs participating on a Red Sea Souk panel on ‘Futureproofing our Industry’, steered by Library Pictures International CEO David Taghioff, shared their thoughts on the deal as a preface to the main topic of the discussion.
—
Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 6 Dec. 2025
And to preface, these are optional.
—Bon Appétit, Bon Appetit Magazine, 9 Oct. 2025
Prud’homme has ordered an archival binder and plans to create a preface that contextualizes Derome’s life alongside the artwork.
—Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Sep. 2025
However, for co-founder Michiel Beers, who started the festival with his brother, Manu, in 2005, creating one of the largest music festivals was just the preface to his Tomorrowland story.
—Steve Baltin, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for preface
Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 6 Dec. 2025
And to preface, these are optional.
—Bon Appétit, Bon Appetit Magazine, 9 Oct. 2025
Prud’homme has ordered an archival binder and plans to create a preface that contextualizes Derome’s life alongside the artwork.
—Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Sep. 2025
However, for co-founder Michiel Beers, who started the festival with his brother, Manu, in 2005, creating one of the largest music festivals was just the preface to his Tomorrowland story.
—Steve Baltin, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for preface
Recent Examples of Synonyms for preface
Noun
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Davidson himself attended the BAFTA Awards and his frequent, involuntary outbursts punctuated host Alan Cumming’s introduction and several of the early award presentations.—
Emily Zemler,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Feb. 2026
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All the chaos in the game, including Alexis Mac Allister’s late chances and stoppage-time winner, followed Ngumoha’s introduction.—
Gregg Evans,
New York Times,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
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My favorite story about how artists make something out of nothing appears in her foreword to Beloved.—
Judith Shulevitz,
The Atlantic,
17 Feb. 2026
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Justice Elena Kagan even gave it a nod in her foreword.—
Ella Lee,
The Hill,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Winners will be announced in a ceremony on Friday, April 17 at USC’s Bovard Auditorium, a prologue to the 31st annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, taking place April 18-19.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
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Then our couple from the prologue, Billie (Isabel DeRoy-Olson) and Albert (William Hope) pull up to the trading post, looking for a map.—
Jordan Hoffman,
Entertainment Weekly,
16 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Preface.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/preface. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
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