“Prayed” or “Preyed”—Which to use?

“Prayed” or “Preyed”

Overview

prayed / preyed are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term. 👇

Definitions

prayed: (verb) address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer.

preyed: (verb) profit from in an exploitatory manner.

Pronunciation

prayed: p·r·EY·d

preyed: p·r·EY·d

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Examples in Context

Examples of “prayed”

…audience and a faithful congregation prayed next to the festival gates.
…occasion when Guru had ever prayed in public.
…lived in stone houses and prayed to the "great master of…
…occasion of his distemperment, he prayed to God and was healed..…
…church was packed and he prayed as usual for King George…
…(2), an interim order is prayed for and such interim order…
Pregnant women prayed to it and offered a…
…night, in his despair, he prayed to St. Barbara that he…
She prayed to Rodríguez for intercession on…
…as she mentions having not prayed in a while, presumably since…

Examples of “preyed”

…troodontids, equipped with weaker jaws, preyed on softer animals and prey…
…was an art dealer who preyed upon an unknown number of…
…which both preys and is preyed upon.
…are benthic organisms that are preyed upon by both demersal and…
…narrated by a young woman preyed upon by a female vampire…
…as the Servant Girl Annihilator, preyed upon the city of Austin,…

(Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions drawn from WordNet.)

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