prenuptial

P3R1E1N1U1P3T1I1A1L1
/pɹiˈnʌpʃəl/

adjective

Occurring before marriage; antenuptial.

Similar
premaritalantenuptialprenuptial agreement
Opposite
postnuptial
OriginEnglish nuptial ← Middle English pre- ← Latin prae- →
UncommonScrabble 14
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Meanings

adjectiveprenuptial (not comparable)

alternative pre-nuptial

  1. not comparableOccurring before marriage; antenuptial.

    In California, for example, one of nine "community property" states, any property acquired during your marriage will be divided evenly between you and your spouse after a divorce, if you don't have a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement.

    1997 February 23, Bruce Felton, “Fastening Your Seat Belt For a Bumpy Marriage”, in The New York Times

    Synonyms: premarital, antenuptial

nounprenuptial (plural prenuptials)

plural prenuptials · alternative pre-nuptial

  1. USSynonym of prenuptial agreement.

    Thus, the collaborative prenuptial is recommended.

    2014, Marilyn J. Coleman, Lawrence H. Ganong, The Social History of the American Family: An Encyclopedia

    Synonyms: prenuptial agreement

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveOccurring before marriage; antenuptial.

Similar
premaritalantenuptial

nounSynonym of prenuptial agreement.

Similar
prenuptial agreement
Opposite
postnuptial

More synonyms by meaning

adjectiverelating to events before a marriage

Similar
premaritalantenuptial
Opposite
postnuptial
Also see
antenuptialpremaritalprenuptial agreement

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*per-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*preh₂-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*préh₂i?
  4. Proto-Italic*prai
  5. Proto-Italic*prai-
  6. Latinprae-
  7. Middle Englishpre-
  8. Englishpre-
  9. Englishnuptial
  10. Englishprenuptial

From pre- + nuptial.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian предбрачен
  • предбрачен (predbračen)occurring before marriage; antenuptial
Catalan antenupcial
  • antenupcialoccurring before marriage; antenuptial
Chinese Mandarin 婚前的
  • 婚前的 (hūnqiánde)occurring before marriage; antenuptial
French prénuptial
  • prénuptialoccurring before marriage; antenuptial
Polish przedmałżeński
  • przedmałżeńskioccurring before marriage; antenuptial
Portuguese pré-nupcial, antenupcial
  • pré-nupcialoccurring before marriage; antenuptial
  • antenupcialoccurring before marriage; antenuptial
Romanian prenupțial, înainte de nuntă
  • prenupțialoccurring before marriage; antenuptial
  • înainte de nuntăoccurring before marriage; antenuptial
Spanish prenupcial
  • prenupcialoccurring before marriage; antenuptial
Cite this entry
APA

prenuptial. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prenuptial

MLA

“prenuptial.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prenuptial. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “prenuptial,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prenuptial.

Source: prenuptial on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.