predisposition
Americannoun
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the fact or condition of being predisposed.
a predisposition to think optimistically.
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Medicine/Medical. tendency to a condition or quality, usually based on the combined effects of genetic and environmental factors.
noun
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the condition of being predisposed
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med susceptibility to a specific disease See diathesis
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of predisposition
First recorded in 1615–25; pre- + disposition
Explanation
A predisposition is a tendency to do something. If you know you have a predisposition toward getting carsick, better to plan ahead and avoid eating before a long drive. Things could get ugly. Predisposition comes from the Latin prae meaning "before," and disponere meaning "put in order, arrange, distribute." If you have a predisposition to think or act a certain way, you can anticipate your reaction before it happens. A genetic predisposition means you are likely to inherit a trait from your parents. Someone might have a genetic predisposition to diabetes or to another illness.
Vocabulary lists containing predisposition
"Magic and the Brain," Vocabulary from the magazine article
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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
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Cosmos
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Predisposition is, of course, a personal quality—a factor of primary importance in our susceptibility to or power to resist disease or in our capacity to withstand adverse conditions.
From Household Administration Its Place in the Higher Education of Women by Various
Predisposition counts for so little that it is a vanishing factor.
From Psychotherapy by Walsh, James J. (James Joseph)
Inheritance of a Predisposition Not Inheritance of a Disease.—We must discriminate sharply also between the inheritance of a predisposition and the inheritance of a disease itself.
From Being Well-Born An Introduction to Eugenics by Guyer, Michael F.
Predisposition, action of, in perception, 44, 101, 102; in æsthetic intuition, 215; in insight, 223; in recollection, 268; in belief, 305, 319; belief as, 324.
From Illusions A Psychological Study by Sully, James
Predisposition in any direction will probably be shown to be caused by them, within limits.
From The Glands Regulating Personality by Berman, Louis, M.D.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
