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prepare

verb

Simple meaning

To make ready for a specific future purpose.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

preepehr

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

pɹiˈpɛɹ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. transitive

    To make ready for a specific future purpose; to set up; to assemble or equip; to forearm.

  2. transitive

    To make ready for eating or drinking; to cook.

  3. intransitive

    To make oneself ready; to get ready, make preparation.

  4. Make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc

  5. transitive

    To produce or make by combining elements; to synthesize, compound.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To make ready for a specific future purpose; to set up; to assemble or equip; to forearm.

Used this way, prepare is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • preparedadjectiveInflected form

    Made ready or fit or suitable beforehand.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • preparationnounDerived noun

    The activity of putting or setting in order in advance of some act or purpose.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • prepare forverbCompound term

    Prepare mentally or emotionally for something unpleasant.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: to make ready for a specific future purpose

ready

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.