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| preen [ preen ] (past and past participle preened, present participle preen·ing, 3rd person present singular preens) |
transitive and intransitive verb |
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| Definition: |
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1. groom feathers with beak: to clean, smooth, or arrange the feathers with the beak
(
refers to birds
)
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2. groom fur with tongue: to clean and smooth the fur by licking it
(
refers to a furred mammal
)
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3. care excessively for personal appearance: to spend a long or excessive time attending to personal appearance, especially making small finishing touches to the hair, the face, or clothes
  busy preening in front of the mirror
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4. show self-satisfaction: to feel excessively self-satisfied and display that feeling by gloating
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| [15th century. Probably < Old French proignier "to prune"] |
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| preen·er noun |
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