preference
/ˈpɹɛf(ə)ɹ(ə)ns/noun, verb
preference is spelled P-R-E-F-E-R-E-N-C-E: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,957th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, preference means “The selection of one thing or person over others (with the main adposition being "for" in relation to the thing or person, but possibly also "of")” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of preference is preferences.
How many letters and syllables are in preference?
| Letters | 10: P-R-E-F-E-R-E-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 13 times per million words; the 5,957th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is preference?
Preference appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,957th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce preference?
- /ˈpɹɛf(ə)ɹ(ə)ns/
- /ˈpɹɛf(ə)ɹɛns/
Preference has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-preference.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of preference
- preferences plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- preferencing participle, present
- preferenced participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does preference mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The selection of one thing or person over others (with the main adposition being "for" in relation to the thing or person, but possibly also "of")
He has a preference for crisp wines.
- 2
The option to so select, and the one selected.
Can I keep my preferences when I upgrade to the new version of this application?
- 3
The state of being preferred over others.
- 4
A strong liking or personal valuation.
- 5
A preferential bias; partiality; discrimination.
- 6
Preferans, a card game, principally played in Eastern Europe.
verb
- 1
USTo give preferential treatment to; to give a preference to.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate preference?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of preference: pref.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Preference in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | préférence |
| German | Vorliebe, Präferenz, Vorzug , Bevorzugung |
| Portuguese | preferência |
| Spanish | preferencia |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does preference come from?
From Middle French preference, from Medieval Latin preferentia. Doublet of preferans. Morphologically prefer + -ence. Compare typologically Russian предвзя́тость (predvzjátostʹ) (<< взять (vzjatʹ), a suppletive of брать (bratʹ), which is cognate with Latin ferō).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).