preconception
Americannoun
-
an idea or opinion formed beforehand
-
a bias; prejudice
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of preconception
First recorded in 1615–25; pre- + conception
Explanation
A preconception is an idea or opinion you have about something before you really know much about it. You might have the preconception that all New Yorkers are rude until you visit the city and start meeting friendly people. Imagine you give your friend an assessment of a popular TV show, saying, "Oh, it's so boring!" despite the fact that you've never seen it. Your negative opinion of the show is a preconception — you may be correct about the show, but you won't know until you actually sit down a watch a few episodes. Preconception comes from pre, "before," and the Latin concipere, "to take in and hold."
Vocabulary lists containing preconception
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: pre-
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Primates
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cept, capt, ceive (take, hold, seize)
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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.
See Examples For:
She urged women who’ve dealt with issues like anxiety, depression or bipolar disorder to make preconception and pregnancy appointments with care providers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Historian David Olusoga, as a heavyweight intellect, will likely face the same preconception struggle as Fry, she says.
From BBC ● May 14, 2025
The team found that women who experienced higher preconception stress had higher mean glucose levels.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 4, 2024
“I do know there’s this preconception that the festival is a little more of a film nerd thing,” Huntsinger says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2023
Then there are others where fable, myth, preconception, love, longing, or prejudice step in and so distort a cool, clear appraisal that a kind of high-colored magical confusion takes permanent hold.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
"Breaking fixed ideas and preconceptions is a big part of our concept," agrees Jurin.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
It prompts us, as we bob about, to reflect on our own proclivities and preconceptions, our patterns of reception and perception.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026
Few are naive enough to think Supreme Court justices have no preconceptions about how a case will go.
From Salon ● Apr. 22, 2026
In Arizona, the overhaul started about a decade ago with the closing of underperforming, 6,000-square-foot locations that fit many people’s preconceptions of thrift as “that dark, dirty store on the corner,” O’Neal said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 24, 2025
Absurd perhaps, but variants of this explanation in less transparent contexts might carry considerable force for people with strong enough preconceptions.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
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.
