preferential
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- adjective
- /prɪˈfɛrənʃəl/
- Under the new agreement, companies in the area will receive preferential tax rates to encourage investment.
- preferential treatment
- give preferential treatment
- preferential access
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Watch on YouTubeBreeders shouldn't get preferential treatment over non breeders.
- Breeders shouldn't get preferential treatment over non breeders.
- So that cut down potentially on some of that preferential treatment.
- Handsome men, you know, get preferential treatment.
- And again, it's like when when you become accustomed to preferential treatment, equal treatment feels like oppression.
- It coddles and spoils him, just as a weak mother's preferential love coddles and spoils for his own envy prevents him from sacrificing himself.
- That person doesn't need preferential treatment that that child needs some therapy.
Examples
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Breeders shouldn't get preferential treatment over non breeders.
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China is seeking bilateral preferential trade arrangements with several other states, and so is the United States.
Academic text (2008) -
And I thought I might have some preferential treatment, you know?
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Nothing good could result if someone found out that she had been given preferential treatment.
Fiction book (1996) -
The parking pass on the back of his car is preferential for doctors.
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Beth, I am disappointed that you would expect preferential treatment.
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There was a conflict involving giving preferential treatment to a friend... which they felt I handled badly.
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There is no preferential treatment, only the fact that they are part of our dart team program.
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Members of Greek organizations showed preferential responses towards Greek groups over academic or purely service organizations.
Academic text (2008) -
The documents purported to show George W. Bush received... ...preferential treatment during his years in the Texas Air National Guard.
Synonyms
Antonyms
How Favoring
Surface Forms
Morphology
preferential = preference (transparent) = prefer + ial
The adjective is a straightforward adjectival formation from 'preference'/'prefer' indicating showing or giving preference.
Etymology
Preferential comes from the simpler word prefer, which itself comes from the Latin parts pre- 'before' and ferre 'to carry'. Think of it as 'carrying someone before others' — putting them first — so preferential means giving special treatment or an advantage to someone.