as in theory
an attitude, belief, or impression formed in advance of actual experience of something
tried to go into the training sessions without any preconceptions
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Recent Examples of preconception
The main thing isn’t to play into the preconceptions of formalwear, but to chip away at them to find a personal style that works for you.
—
Brett F. Braley-Palko, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
One of the biggest surprises, and don’t worry, this is something that comes up almost immediately in episode one, is when a character’s appearance and voice don’t exactly match up to our preconceptions.
—Rachel Elspeth Gross, Forbes.com, 10 Apr. 2025
When a Republican Congress and Democratic President Bill Clinton enacted welfare reform in 1996, researchers tracked its real-world effects without ideological preconceptions.
—Andrew V. Papachristos, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2025
Pattinson, a putty-limbed stooge one minute and a vicious nihilist the next, has fun challenging Mickey’s preconceptions of himself—or, rather, himselves.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for preconception
Brett F. Braley-Palko, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
One of the biggest surprises, and don’t worry, this is something that comes up almost immediately in episode one, is when a character’s appearance and voice don’t exactly match up to our preconceptions.
—Rachel Elspeth Gross, Forbes.com, 10 Apr. 2025
When a Republican Congress and Democratic President Bill Clinton enacted welfare reform in 1996, researchers tracked its real-world effects without ideological preconceptions.
—Andrew V. Papachristos, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2025
Pattinson, a putty-limbed stooge one minute and a vicious nihilist the next, has fun challenging Mickey’s preconceptions of himself—or, rather, himselves.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for preconception
Recent Examples of Synonyms for preconception
Noun
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Russian sources, however, have suggested a third theory: that Portnov might have held compromising material on current Ukrainian officials.—
Katya Soldak,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2025
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The chance encounter turned out to be a first-of-its-kind sighting — and confirmation of an expert theory.—
Aspen Pflughoeft,
Miami Herald,
23 May 2025
Noun
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Courts are also increasingly scrutinizing environmental claims—down to the assumptions behind individual offsets.—
Felicia Jackson,
Forbes.com,
3 June 2025
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Mass incarceration, which swept the country in the late twentieth century, rested on the assumption that a person spoiling for a fight with another person was weighing costs: that the difference between ten years and twenty-five would matter.—
Malcolm Gladwell,
New Yorker,
2 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Preconception.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/preconception. Accessed 7 Jun. 2025.
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