Prethoughtful, prē-thawt′fōōl, adj. forethoughtful, prudent.
Pretibial, prē-tib′i-al, adj. situated upon the front of the lower part of the leg.
Pretor, &c. See Prætor, &c.
Pretty, pret′i, adj. tasteful: pleasing to the eye: having attractive but not striking beauty: neat: beautiful without dignity: small: affected: moderately large, considerable: puny, weak (a term of endearment): (in contempt) fine: (obs.) shrewd, cunning: (obs.) strong, warlike.—adv. in some degree: moderately.—v.t. Prett′ify, to make pretty in an excessively ornamental way.—adv. Prett′ily, in a pretty manner: pleasingly: elegantly: neatly.—n. Prett′iness.—adj. Prett′yish, somewhat pretty.—n. Prett′ypretty (coll.), a knick-knack.—adj. Prett′y-spō′ken, speaking or spoken prettily.—Pretty much, very nearly. [A.S. prættig, tricky—prætt, trickery; prob. Low L. practicus—Gr. praktikos—prattein, to do.]
Pretypify, prē-tip′i-fī, v.t. to represent by a type what is to happen: to prefigure.
Pretzel, pret′sel, n. a brittle biscuit, cracknel. [Ger.,—Old High Ger. brizilla, prezitella—Low L. bracellus, also braciolum, a kind of cake.]
Prevail, prē-vāl′, v.i. to be very powerful: to gain the victory: to have the upper hand: to have greater influence or effect: to overcome: to be in force: to succeed.—v.t. (obs.) avail.—adj. Prevail′ing, having great power: controlling: bringing about results: very general or common.—adv. Prevail′ingly.—ns. Prevail′ment (Shak.), prevalence; Prev′alence, Prev′alency, the state of being prevalent or wide-spread: superior strength or influence: preponderance: efficacy.—adj. Prev′alent, prevailing: having great power: victorious: wide-spread: most common.—adv. Prev′alently. [Fr. prévaloir—L. prævalēre—præ, before, valēre, to be powerful.]
Prevaricate, prē-var′i-kāt, v.i. to shift about from side to side, to evade the truth: to quibble: (obs.) to undertake a thing with the purpose of defeating or destroying it: (law) to betray a client by collusion with his opponent.—v.t. (obs.) to pervert, transgress.—ns. Prēvaricā′tion, the act of quibbling to evade the truth; Prēvar′icātor, one who prevaricates to evade the truth: a quibbler. [L. prævaricāri, -ātus—præ, inten., varicus, straddling—varus, bent.]
Prevenancy, prev′ē-nan-si, n. complaisance.
Prevent, prē-vent′, v.t. to hinder: to check: to render impossible: (orig.) to go before: to be earlier than.—v.t. Prēvene′ (rare), to precede.—n. Prevē′nience.—adj. Prevē′nient (Milt.), going before: preceding: preventive.—n. Preventabil′ity, the quality of being preventable.—adj. Preven′table, that may be prevented or hindered.—ns. Preven′ter, one who, or that which, prevents or hinders: (naut.) an additional rope or spar for strengthening the ordinary one; Preven′tion, act of preventing: anticipation or forethought: obstruction.—adjs. Preven′tive, Preven′tative, tending to prevent or hinder: preservative.—n. that which prevents: a preservative.—adv. Preven′tively.—n. Preven′tiveness.—Preventive service, the service rendered by the coastguard in preventing smuggling. [L. præventus, pa.p. of prævenīre—præ, before, venīre, to come.]