Synonyms:
ask, bid, entreat, invoke, request, beg, call upon, implore, pet.i.tion, supplicate.
beseech, conjure, importune, plead,
To _pray_, in the religious sense, is devoutly to address the Supreme Being with reverent pet.i.tion for divine grace or any favor or blessing, and in the fullest sense with thanksgiving and praise for the divine goodness and mercy; the once common use of the word to express any earnest _request_, as "I _pray_ you to come in," is now rare, unless in writings molded on older literature, or in certain phrases, as "_Pray_ sit down;" even in these "please" is more common; "I _beg_ you" is also frequently used, as expressing a polite humility of _request_. _Beseech_ and _entreat_ express great earnestness of _pet.i.tion_; _implore_ and _supplicate_ denote the utmost fervency and intensity, _supplicate_ implying also humility. Compare ASK; PLEAD.
PRECARIOUS.
Synonyms:
doubtful, hazardous, risky, unsettled, dubious, insecure, una.s.sured, unstable, equivocal, perilous, uncertain, unsteady.
_Uncertain_ is applied to things that human knowledge can not certainly determine or that human power can not certainly control; _precarious_ originally meant dependent on the will of another, and now, by extension of meaning, dependent on chance or hazard, with manifest unfavorable possibility verging toward probability; as, one holds office by a _precarious_ tenure, or land by a _precarious_ t.i.tle; the strong man"s hold on life is _uncertain_, the invalid"s is _precarious_.
Antonyms:
actual, immutable, real, steady, undeniable, a.s.sured, incontestable, settled, strong, undoubted, certain, infallible, stable, sure, unquestionable.
firm,
PRECEDENT.
Synonyms:
antecedent, case, instance, pattern, authority, example, obiter dictum, warrant.
A _precedent_ is an authoritative _case_, _example_, or _instance_. The communism of the early Christians in Jerusalem is a wonderful _example_ or _instance_ of Christian liberality, but not a _precedent_ for the universal church through all time. _Cases_ decided by irregular or unauthorized tribunals are not _precedents_ for the regular administration of law. An _obiter dictum_ is an opinion outside of the _case_ in hand, which can not be quoted as an authoritative _precedent_.
Compare CAUSE; EXAMPLE.
PREDESTINATION.
Synonyms:
fate, foreknowledge, foreordination, necessity.
_Predestination_ is a previous determination or decision, which, in the divine action, reaches on from eternity. _Fate_ is heathen, an irresistible, irrational power determining all events with no manifest connection with reason or righteousness; _necessity_ is philosophical, a blind something in the nature of things binding the slightest action or motion in the chain of inevitable, eternal sequence; _foreordination_ and _predestination_ are Christian, denoting the rational and righteous order or decree of the supreme and all-wise G.o.d. _Foreknowledge_ is simply G.o.d"s antecedent knowledge of all events, which some hold to be entirely separable from his _foreordination_, while others hold _foreordination_ to be inseparably involved in _foreknowledge_.
Antonyms:
accident, choice, freedom, independence, chance, free agency, free will, uncertainty.
Prepositions:
Predestination _of_ believers _to_ eternal life.
PREJUDICE.
Synonyms:
bias, preconception, presumption, partiality, prepossession, unfairness.
A _presumption_ (literally, a taking beforehand) is a partial decision formed in advance of argument or evidence, usually grounded on some general principle, and always held subject to revision upon fuller information. A _prejudice_ or _prepossession_ is grounded often on feeling, fancy, a.s.sociations, etc. A _prejudice_ against foreigners is very common in retired communities. There is always a _presumption_ in favor of what exists, so that the burden of proof is upon one who advocates a change. A _prepossession_ is always favorable, a _prejudice_ always unfavorable, unless the contrary is expressly stated. Compare INJURY.
Antonyms:
certainty, conviction, evidence, reason, conclusion, demonstration, proof, reasoning.
Prepositions:
_Against_; rarely, _in favor of_, _in one"s favor_.
PRETENSE.
Synonyms:
affectation, disguise, pretext, simulation, air, dissimulation, ruse, subterfuge, a.s.sumption, excuse, seeming, trick, cloak, mask, semblance, wile.
color, pretension, show,
A _pretense_, in the unfavorable, which is also the usual sense, is something advanced or displayed for the purpose of concealing the reality. A person makes a _pretense_ of something for the credit or advantage to be gained by it; he makes what is allowed or approved a _pretext_ for doing what would be opposed or condemned; a tricky schoolboy makes a _pretense_ of doing an errand which he does not do, or he makes the actual doing of an errand a _pretext_ for playing truant. A _ruse_ is something (especially something slight or petty) employed to blind or deceive so as to mask an ulterior design, and enable a person to gain some end that he would not be allowed to approach directly. A _pretension_ is a claim that is or may be contested; the word is now commonly used in an unfavorable sense. Compare ARTIFICE; HYPOCRISY.
Antonyms:
actuality, frankness, ingenuousness, reality, sincerity, candor, guilelessness, openness, simplicity, truth.
fact, honesty,
PREVENT.