preliminary

alternative archaic præliminary

1. not comparableIn preparation for the main matter; initial, introductory, preparatory.

   These are just the preliminary results.

   3 more examples

   And then, after a few preliminary tries, the whole farm burst out into 'Beasts of England' in tremendous unison.

   1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLC

   The Zurich group has shared a preliminary writeup of its findings.

   2025 April 28, Kate Travis, “Experiment using AI-generated posts on Reddit draws fire for ethics concerns”, in Retraction Watch, archived from the original on 10 Jun 2025

   An email from ICE headquarters to the agency’s top officials on October 5 lamented that “a considerable amount of athletically allergic candidates” had been showing up to the academy; they had “misrepresented” their physical condition on application forms. The email directed leaders at ICE’s field offices to conduct preliminary fitness exams with new recruits before sending them to the academy.

   2025 October 20, Nick Miroff, “ICE’s ‘Athletically Allergic’ Recruits”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 20 Oct 2025

   Synonyms: initial, introductory, preparatory · Antonyms: definitive, final

plural preliminaries · alternative archaic præliminary

1. A preparation for a main matter; an introduction.

   In the Chinese novels, often of a very literary character, devoted to masculine love, it seems that all the preliminaries and transports of normal love are to be found, while physical union may terminate the scene.

   1927, Havelock Ellis, Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 2 (of 6)

2. Any of a series of sports events that determine the finalists.
3. A relatively minor contest that precedes a major one, especially in boxing.