predisposed

[pree-di-spohzd]

adjective

1. having or showing an inclination or tendency toward a specified condition, opinion, behavior, etc., beforehand.

   Many studies show how genes interact with the environment to cause disease in predisposed individuals.

   The novel is skillfully written, but in a style that requires close reading and a predisposed reader.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of predispose.

Other Word Forms

• predisposedly adverb
• predisposedness noun
• unpredisposed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of predisposed¹

predispose ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Most had had previous, less severe incidents—or “micro concussions”—that while not enough to send them to a clinician, predisposed them to a bigger event, he said.

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But Lindhome is, by her own admission, naturally predisposed to find the positive in everything.

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What's more, With Love, Meghan was never going to change opinions of those who are already, for whatever reason, predisposed against her - just as her new podcast series is unlikely to.

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And to be fair, that’s not a bad courtroom strategy against an opponent who is almost pathologically predisposed to putting his foot in his mouth.

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“We adults have persuaded ourselves that this is one of the bonuses of being a child, that you can revel in magical creatures. But there isn’t much evidence that children are predisposed to magical thinking.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times