preacquaint
Definition
- Verb:
- To inform or make someone aware of something in advance: "preacquaint" means to give someone prior knowledge or information about a person, event, or situation before it occurs or is encountered.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- The teacher preacquainted the students with the new syllabus before the semester began. (The teacher informed the students about the syllabus in advance.)
- I was preacquainted with the rules of the game by my friend before we started playing. (My friend told me the rules beforehand.)
Advanced Usage
"to be preacquainted with": to have been given prior knowledge or familiarity with something.
- She was preacquainted with the city's layout from reading travel guides. (She had learned about the city's layout in advance.)
"to preacquaint oneself": to deliberately seek advance information about something.
- He preacquainted himself with the company's policies before the interview. (He learned the policies beforehand.)
Variants and Related Words
Preacquaintance (n): the state or act of being informed in advance.
- His preacquaintance with the subject made the lecture easy to follow. (His prior knowledge helped him understand.)
Preacquainted (adj): having been informed or made familiar with something beforehand.
- The team was preacquainted with the new software before the update. (They knew about it in advance.)
Synonyms
- Forewarn: to warn someone of something before it happens.
- Preinform: to give information in advance.
- Brief: to give someone essential information beforehand.
Related Idioms
- "Give someone the heads-up": to provide advance warning or information.
- My colleague gave me a heads-up about the meeting changes. (She informed me beforehand.)
- "Put someone in the picture": to provide someone with necessary background information.
- The manager put the new hire in the picture about office procedures. (She preacquainted him with the procedures.)
Phrasal Verbs
- Fill in: to provide someone with necessary information.
- Please fill me in on what happened while I was away. (Preacquaint me with recent events.)
- Clue in: to give someone important information.
- She clued me in on the secret plan. (She preacquainted me with the plan.)