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PREFERENCE
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Grant of favor or advantage to one over another (especially to a country or countries in matters of international trade, such as levying duties)
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("preference" is a kind of...):
advantage; vantage (the quality of having a superior or more favorable position)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The right or chance to choose
Example:
given my druthers, I'd eat cake
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("preference" is a kind of...):
alternative; choice; option (one of a number of things from which only one can be chosen)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "preference"):
wish (the particular preference that you have)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A predisposition in favor of something
Example:
showed a Marxist orientation
Synonyms:
orientation; predilection; preference
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("preference" is a kind of...):
predisposition (an inclination beforehand to interpret statements in a particular way)
Derivation:
prefer (select as an alternative over another)
preferent (preferred above all others and treated with partiality)
preferential (manifesting partiality)
Sense 4
Meaning:
A strong liking
Example:
the Irish have a penchant for blarney
Synonyms:
penchant; predilection; preference; taste
Classified under:
Nouns denoting feelings and emotions
Hypernyms ("preference" is a kind of...):
liking (a feeling of pleasure and enjoyment)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "preference"):
acquired taste (a preference that is only acquired after considerable experience)
weakness (a penchant for something even though it might not be good for you)
Derivation:
prefer (like better; value more highly)
Context examples:
However, the two species had different preferences when it came to water temperature.
(Blue sharks use ocean eddies as fast-tracks to food, National Science Foundation)
In my heart I feel little—scarcely any doubt of his preference.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
A single undivided thing (unit) based on or subject to individual judgment or preference, and not by necessity, reason, or principle.
(Arbitrary Unit, NCI Thesaurus)
General Clinical Global Impressions (GCGI v1) Pain treatment preference.
(GCGI - Pain Treatment Preference, NCI Thesaurus)
An integer specifying the relative preference for considering this relationship before other similar relationships having the same source activity.
(Defined Criterion Group Option Relationship Priority Number, NCI Thesaurus)
A subjective answer indicating a strong preference for number explanations over word explanations.
(Always Prefer Numbers or Percentages, NCI Thesaurus)
A subjective answer indicating a strong preference for word explanations over number explanations.
(Always Prefer Words, NCI Thesaurus)
I did not go past the doorway, however, for undue preference gives rise to jealousy.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
She would not hand him a stereotyped rejection slip, nor would she inform him that lack of preference for his work did not necessarily imply lack of merit in his work.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
Induced by these feelings, I was of course led to admire peaceable lawgivers, Numa, Solon, and Lycurgus, in preference to Romulus and Theseus.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
