How to Use preferable in a Sentence

preferable

adjective
  • One or two days of training per week is preferable to none.
    — Alexa Mikhail, Flow Space, 4 Feb. 2026
  • That still would seem to be the preferable approach.
    — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 12 Jan. 2026
  • Foamy cleansers can be abrasive (while still preferable to soap).
    — Matt Fuchs, TIME, 3 Mar. 2025
  • But this is preferable to belief in a truth that may not exist.
    — Stephen J. Ceci, Scientific American, 25 Oct. 2020
  • Even more preferable, have someone check you for ticks on your back and the back of your legs.
    — Alice Park, Time, 30 Mar. 2026
  • That may be preferable when time and money are in short supply.
    — Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2026
  • White walls can do the trick, but a high-quality screen is preferable.
    — Anthony Marcusa, chicagotribune.com, 25 Sep. 2020
  • The mistakes of youth are preferable to the wisdom of old age any day of the week.
    — Tim Sullivan, The Courier-Journal, 14 Apr. 2018
  • Laughter may be the best medicine, but what if the illness is preferable to the cure?
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2025
  • Heavy live chumming is preferable, but sometimes live pilchards are scarce.
    — Steve Waters, Miami Herald, 10 Apr. 2026
  • But that’s far preferable to the rest of the film, which is mind-numbingly dull.
    — Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2023
  • Either was still preferable to a tarp, stretched over a bus shelter or held up by poles.
    — Nimet Kirac, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2023
  • Just like jihadists, fame, even in death, is preferable to their anonymity.
    — Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 10 Aug. 2019
  • So which one is preferable in today's market?
    — Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 26 Feb. 2026
  • That is preferable to digging the whole plant up and moving it indoors.
    — Janet Carson, Arkansas Online, 18 Oct. 2020
  • The broader aim is not to get people to agree that one set of policies is preferable.
    — The Politics Of Everything, The New Republic, 24 Mar. 2022
  • Semi to full shade is preferable as the leaves may scorch in sunny, dry areas.
    — Dawn Pettinelli, Hartford Courant, 18 Jan. 2026
  • Therefore, the terms of the new loan should be preferable to those of the previous.
    — Jim Slavik, Car and Driver, 4 Apr. 2023
  • The truth is that any kind of writing is hard—something is so rarely preferable to nothing.
    — The New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2023
  • For Larkin, kayaking on the canal is preferable to traversing lakes and rivers.
    — Robin Catalano, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Aug. 2021
  • The night ended with a trip to jail, much preferable to the aforementioned trip to the morgue.
    — Matthew Martinez, star-telegram, 5 June 2018
  • Does a gold investment sound preferable to silver right now?
    — Matt Richardson, CBS News, 10 Feb. 2026
  • Some of the crypto jokes are dated, but that’s preferable to bored apes still being in the news.
    — Joshua Kurp, Vulture, 4 Nov. 2024
  • Sports fans can get accustomed to anything, and some of the new norms are preferable to the old ones.
    — Paul Sullivan, chicagotribune.com, 23 Sep. 2020
  • Any of the defenders mentioned above would be preferable.
    — Shayna Goldman, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Morning sun that can help to dry out wet foliage is preferable to afternoon sun.
    — Larry Figart, Florida Times-Union, 10 Jan. 2026
  • On paper, free-market purists surely find this preferable.
    — Michael Santoli, CNBC, 23 June 2026
  • There is a view among those close to All3Media that this is the preferable outcome.
    — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 27 June 2024
  • The captain drove the ship onto the sand, beaching preferable to sinking.
    — David Reamer, Anchorage Daily News, 9 May 2021
  • Trading Castellanos would have been preferable.
    — Charlotte Varnes, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'preferable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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