Meaning & use
preamble
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Meanings
nouncountableformallegal
An introductory statement at the start of a formal document, often explaining its purpose.
Grammar: Usually singular and followed by to: the preamble to a constitution.
Patterns
- the preamble to a treaty
- a brief preamble
- in the preamble
The preamble explains why the treaty was written.
Readers often skip the preamble and go to the first article.
Her essay opened with a short preamble about the research question.
nouncountableinformal
A long introduction before the main point in speech or writing, used informally.
Grammar: Common in phrases like after a long preamble; can imply unnecessary delay.
Patterns
- after a long preamble
- without preamble
- skip the preamble
After a long preamble, he finally asked for a loan.
Please get to the point without preamble.
The email had so much preamble that I almost missed the request.
Word forms
| plural | preambles |
|---|
Common combinations
- brief preamble
- A brief preamble stated the purpose of the report.
- lengthy preamble
- The speaker apologized for the lengthy preamble.
- preamble to a constitution
- The preamble to a constitution can set out shared aims.
- without preamble
- Without preamble, she asked for the missing files.
Synonyms and how they differ
- introduction
- The general word for opening material; preamble is more formal or official.
- preface
- An introduction to a book, often by the author explaining the work.
- foreword
- A short book introduction usually written by someone other than the author.
- opening
- The beginning of anything, from a speech to a game; less official than preamble.
Practice
The treaty begins with a ___ explaining its aims and principles.
Choose one answer.
A preamble introduces a formal document and states its purpose. An epilogue concludes, an appendix adds extra material, and an index lists topics with page numbers.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “preamble”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.