Prefer
Prefer verb - To decide to accept (someone or something) from a group of possibilities.
Usage example: most buyers of that vehicle have preferred the model with four-wheel drive
Settle
Settle verb - To cause to come to rest at the bottom (as of a liquid).
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
- The defenders also double as potential killer robots if they have to, but both models prefer to settle things peacefully.
Source: Music / Flobots - Due to how leveling is handled in Ace Online / Air Rivals, there are only several maps where each class goes to: A-Gears usually settle in Alioth, while higher level ones prefer Lumein Volcano.
Source: Peninsula of Power Leveling - Some of Dean Koontz's works prefer to settle for a paranormal solution over a supernatural one, and The Servants of Twilight is a particularly heavy-handed example.
Source: Doing In the Wizard
Cite this Source
Settle and Prefer. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 07, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/prefer/settle
Prefer & Settle. N.p., 2016. Web. 07 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/prefer/settle>.
Settle or Prefer. 2016. Accessed August 07, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/prefer/settle.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "prefer" and "settle" have occurred on timeline