prepossession
Americannoun
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the state of being prepossessed.
-
a prejudice, especially one in favor of a person or thing.
- Synonyms:
- interest, bias, liking, predilection
noun
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the state or condition of being prepossessed
-
a prejudice or bias, esp a favourable one
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of prepossession
First recorded in 1640–50; pre- + possession
Explanation
Prepossession is a prejudice or a preconceived idea about something. You might be accused of prepossession if you decided you were going to dislike your new job before you'd even started working there. When you've got a strong opinion about a subject — or a person — despite having little information or direct experience, that's prepossession. Your prepossession on the subject of cats might make it hard for you to be enthusiastic about your roommate's new kitten, for example. The obsolete verb prepossess originally meant "to get possession of beforehand." By the 1630's, it came to mean "to possess a person beforehand with a feeling or idea," usually in a positive sense.
Vocabulary lists containing prepossession
"Common Sense," Vocabulary from the pamphlet
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Common Sense
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Society and Solitude
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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.
I may be foolish to do so--the prepossession may be false--the motives for such belief may be slight; but yet that belief is strong.
From The Gipsy (Vols I & II) A Tale by James, G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford)
But this prominence is also a natural result of the romanticists' prepossession with passion.
From Tragedy by Thorndike, Ashley H.
And his strong and awful prepossession in favor of the Bible led him, first of all, to go to the book.
From Prisoners of Conscience by Barr, Amelia Edith Huddleston
My own prepossession is still in favor of Alberti.
From Renaissance in Italy: Italian Literature Part 1 (of 2) by Symonds, John Addington
Among the methods of conciliation and prepossession, humour and drollery are particularly mentioned.
From History of Roman Literature from its Earliest Period to the Augustan Age. Volume II by Dunlop, John
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.
