precatory
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of precatory
1630–40; < Late Latin precātōrius, equivalent to Latin precā ( rī ) to pray, entreat + -tōrius -tory 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As a so-called precatory proposal, it is not legally binding on the company.
From New York Times • Mar. 1, 2014
It was precatory, and merely expressed her wish that her pictures stay in the museum�or be sold or loaned to other museums.
From Time Magazine Archive
For this reason, recommendatory or precatory words used in a bequest are frequently treated as an express direction.
From History of Woman Suffrage, Volume III by Stanton, Elizabeth Cady
“Make your mind easy, amiga!” counselled the Condesa Almonté in less precatory tone.
From The Free Lances A Romance of the Mexican Valley by Reid, Mayne
Before long the precatory form of absolution is replaced by the indicative form by which the priest declared the sinner absolved.
From The Church and the Empire, Being an Outline of the History of the Church from A.D. 1003 to A.D. 1304 by Medley, D. J. (Dudley Julius)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
