Meaning & use
priming
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Meanings
noununcountabletechnical
In psychology, the effect by which exposure to one stimulus influences how a person responds to a later stimulus.
Grammar: Uncountable: priming can be measured, but you do not say 'a priming' in this sense.
Patterns
- priming effect
- semantic priming
- priming of something
The study demonstrated that priming with certain words can speed up recognition of related words.
Priming effects are often used in experiments on memory and attention.
Reading the word 'doctor' can cause priming that makes 'nurse' easier to recognize.
noununcountable
A coat of preparatory paint or sealant applied to a surface before the final coat.
Grammar: Uncountable in this sense: apply priming, a layer of priming.
Patterns
- apply priming
- a coat of priming
- priming before painting
You should apply a coat of priming before painting the walls.
The priming helps the topcoat stick and last longer.
After sanding, he brushed on the priming and let it dry.
Common combinations
- priming effect
- The priming effect was strongest when the words were presented very briefly.
- semantic priming
- Semantic priming occurs when one word makes a related word easier to process.
- apply priming
- Before you paint, apply priming to any bare wood.
- a coat of priming
- Give the metal a coat of priming to prevent rust.
Synonyms and how they differ
- preparation
- Preparation is a general word for getting something ready; priming is a specific technical term in psychology or painting.
- sensitization
- Sensitization means becoming more responsive to a stimulus; priming specifically involves the influence of a prior stimulus on a later response.
Word family
Commonly confused: priming or priming?
priming vs priming
In psychology, priming is about influence between stimuli; in painting, it is about a base coat. Context makes the meaning clear.
Practice
In the experiment, ______ with the word 'bread' made participants respond faster to 'butter'.
Choose one answer.
Priming is the psychological effect being tested. 'Prime' is a verb and would need a different structure, such as 'priming with' is the correct noun form here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “priming”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.