There are more (many) ways to Rome:
//=>considering predQuery[preId] is undefined:
predQuery[preId] === undefined; //=> true
undefined === predQuery[preId] //=> true
predQuery[preId] || 'it\'s unbelievable!' //=> it's unbelievable
var isdef = predQuery[preId] ? predQuery[preId] : null //=> isdef = null
cheers!