1 (like better) preferir;to a she prefers coffee to tea prefiere el café al té
I became a teacher because I preferred books and people to politics
which do you prefer? ¿cuál prefieres?; ¿cuál te gusta más?; I preferred it the way it was lo prefería tal como estaba
qualifications preferred but not essential ser titulado es una ventaja pero no un requisito
does he prefer a particular sort of music? many Russians would prefer Mrs Thatcher as their leader among the plants that prefer moist soil are roses the Cambodians say they prefer life at Galang because there is peace
to prefer doing sth preferir hacer algo seven out of ten people prefer cooking with gas he was not sociable - he preferred being alone Bob prefers making original pieces rather than reproductions
I prefer walking to going by car prefiero ir andando or caminando a ir en coche; (LAm)
most children prefer watching television to reading books
I'd prefer it if you didn't come with me preferiría que no vinieras conmigo
I much prefer Scotland Escocia me gusta mucho más
to prefer that preferir que we'd prefer that this visit be kept confidential preferimos que esta visita se mantenga en secreto
to prefer to do sth preferir hacer algo I prefer to stay home people who are easily upset may prefer not to watch we hoped you'd cooperate, but if you prefer not to, it's your choice
"will you do it?" — "I'd prefer not to" —¿lo harás? —preferiría no hacerlo
I prefer not to say I prefer not to think about it I prefer to go on self-catering holidays the prime minister would have preferred to hold the talks in Rome he never married, preferring to devote himself to art
he may prefer to discuss it with friends rather than with his family puede que prefiera hablarlo con amigos a hacerlo con su familia
he preferred to dress casually most of the time rather than wear his expensive suits
to prefer sb to do sth preferir que algn haga algo; would you prefer me to drive? ¿preferirías que condujera yo?
I prefer you to leave at once my father would have preferred me to go to Oxford to study I would prefer him to be with us next season many people prefer cash [over] credit, even when buying expensive goods a woman with normal-to-dry skin might prefer a cream over a lotion a vitamin C supplement from natural ingredients is to be preferred to a synthetic one it is obvious that a peaceful outcome is to be preferred to a military solution
2 (Jur) to prefer charges (against sb) presentar cargos (contra algn) our client may decide to prefer charges of assault puede que nuestro cliente decida presentar cargos por agresión
it is unlikely that any charges will be preferred against the group police yesterday detained a man for questioning, but no charges have yet been preferred we called a doctor and the police, but didn't prefer charges
3 especially (Rel) (promote) ascender; (appoint) nombrar he was preferred to the see of Toledo lo nombraron arzobispo de Toledo
