[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by Maxful

Yes, but not exactly. For example, I am sure you say "I am preparing food" instead of "I am arranging food".

Sorry for being meticulous, but I do have a tendency and habit of getting to the bottom of the line.

Yes, but we're not talking about English. We're talking about a Japanese word that is "in the middle" of these words. 用意する means that you're doing something in advance of another event.

Sometimes in English we say "prepare" and other times we say "arrange," but in Japanese it's 用意 regardless of what the English is.

Look at these many Japanese examples and try to see the "thread" that connects the usages together. This is how you learn the fine art of connotations and denotations.

用意がされて = in the making (literally "用意 is being done")
用意ができていない = to be not ready (literally something like "haven't been able to do 用意")
用意が不十分 = ill-conceived (literally "用意 are insufficient")
用意の位置 = mark (in theater, you "hit your mark" when you go to your pre-arranged spot to deliver your lines) (literally "the 用意 location)
用意周到で = thoroughly prepared (literally 用意 + "meticulously")
〜する用意がある = to be ready to do ~ (literally "there exists 用意 for doing ~"
〜する用意がある意向を示す = "to signal one's willingness to do ~" (literally "to show the intention that there exists 用意 for doing ~")
〜に用意させる = to prepare ~ (literally "to make ~ 用意'd")
〜のために用意したごちそう = tasty dishes lined up for ~ (literally "a feast that you 用意'd for ~")

Do you see how the translation into English is not the same, yet each usage of 用意 specifically expresses the concept of something being done in advance of something else (I'm trying to avoid using anything like "in preparation" in my explanation here).

Remember that there is no one-to-one mapping of Japanese to English. Instead, the goal when translating is to provide the best representation of the Japanese thought in English. This is why I pithily batted away your question earlier without really explaining much. It's just not going to work to say "here are three words that can mean the exact same thing in English; which one is the exact translation of 用意する" because the question assumes erroneously that there is such a thing as an "exact translation."

Do you understand?

I make this mistake sometimes, too. It's important to get over this interlingual hangup; it will do nothing but be an obstacle to your learning.

This is why advanced learners are well-served to move to a Japanese-only dictionary instead of an English<->Japanese dictionary. Honestly, an EN<->JA dictionary is not truly be a "dictionary" since it provides only sample translations (yes, sample translations—there are other options than what are listed in these "dictionaries," too!) and zero definitions).