prepossess

[ pree-puh-zes ]
See synonyms for: prepossessprepossessedprepossessing on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to possess or dominate mentally beforehand, as a prejudice does.

  2. to prejudice or bias, especially favorably.

  1. to impress favorably beforehand or at the outset.

Origin of prepossess

1
First recorded in 1605–15; pre- + possess

Words Nearby prepossess

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use prepossess in a sentence

  • But still there have been great acts of cruelty committed; quite enough to prepossess us against you as a body.

    Newton Forster | Captain Frederick Marryat
  • His countenance wore a reckless look that did not serve to prepossess him with the people at whose mercy he stood.

    That Affair Next Door | Anna Katharine Green
  • In fact, my appearance was by no means calculated to prepossess people in my favour.

  • His stay was not very long; not one of us divined the object of his visit, and he did not prepossess us favourably.

    Uncle Silas | J. S. LeFanu
  • I am not going to prepossess you against even our village scold, by telling her name.

    Deerbrook | Harriet Martineau

British Dictionary definitions for prepossess

prepossess

/ (ˌpriːpəˈzɛs) /


verb(tr)
  1. to preoccupy or engross mentally

  2. to influence in advance for or against a person or thing; prejudice; bias

  1. to make a favourable impression on beforehand

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012