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preempt has 3 distinct synonyms spread across 2 of its 5 senses. Each sense below keeps its own list, because a synonym belongs to a meaning and not to a word: swapping one sense's substitute into another sense's sentence is how a thesaurus makes writing worse. WordNet records no antonym for it — antonymy is a relation between word forms rather than concepts, so it is deliberately sparse.
Counts are distinct word forms across every sense. A synonym that appears under three senses is counted once here and shown three times below, under each sense it belongs to.
acquire for oneself before others can do so
gain possession of by prior right or opportunity, especially so as to obtain the right to buy (land)
make a preemptive bid in the game of bridge
a high bid that is intended to prevent the opposing players from bidding
Synonyms, antonyms and the broader and narrower relations for preempt come from Princeton University’s WordNet. Full sources and licences.