disposition

[dis-puh-zish-uhn]

noun

the predominant or prevailing tendency of one's spirits; natural mental and emotional outlook or mood; characteristic attitude: a girl with a pleasant disposition.

state of mind regarding something; inclination: a disposition to gamble.

physical inclination or tendency: the disposition of ice to melt when heated.

arrangement or placing, as of troops or buildings.

final settlement of a matter.

bestowal, as by gift or sale.

power to make decisions about or dispose of a thing; control: funds at one's disposition.

regulation; management; dispensation: the disposition of God.

Origin of disposition

1325–75; Middle English disposicioun (< Anglo-French) < Latin dispositiōn- (stem of dispositiō), equivalent to disposit(us) (past participle of dispōnere to distribute; dispos- (see dispose) + -itus past participle suffix) + -iōn- -ion

Related formsdis·po·si·tion·al, adjectivere·dis·po·si·tion, noun

Synonyms for disposition

1. nature, character, humor. 2. bent, tendency, predisposition, proclivity. 4. order, grouping, location, placement. 5. outcome, result. 7. control, direction.

Synonym study

1. Disposition, temper, temperament refer to the aspects and habits of mind and emotion that one displays over a length of time. Disposition is the natural or prevailing aspect of one's mind as shown in behavior and in relationships with others: a happy disposition; a selfish disposition. Temper sometimes denotes the essential quality of one's nature: a glacial temper; usually it has to do with propensity toward anger: an even temper; a quick or hot temper. Temperament refers to the particular balance of emotions determining a person's character: an artistic temperament.

Antonyms for disposition

2. unwillingness.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for dispositional

Contemporary Examples of dispositional

But since Conor focuses more on the positive attributes of “dispositional” religion, I want to give most of my attention to that.
The Illusory Promise of Apolitical Theology
David Sessions
June 2, 2012
Olsen divides GOP primary voters into two camps—“dispositional conservatives” and “ideological conservatives.”
Rick's Still Beating Mitt
Michael Tomasky
September 23, 2011

Historical Examples of dispositional

The one etiological group then becomes split up into two which may be designated as the dispositional and the definitive groups.
Three Contributions to the Theory of Sex
Sigmund Freud

British Dictionary definitions for dispositional

disposition

noun

a person's usual temperament or frame of mind

a natural or acquired tendency, inclination, or habit in a person or thing

another word for disposal (def. 2), disposal (def. 3), disposal (def. 4), disposal (def. 5)

philosophy logic a property that consists not in the present state of an object, but in its propensity to change in a certain way under certain conditions, as brittleness which consists in the propensity to break when struckCompare occurrent

archaic manner of placing or arranging

Derived Formsdispositional, adjective

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

Word Origin and History for dispositional

disposition

late 14c., "ordering, management," also "tendency of mind," from Old French disposicion (12c.) "arrangement, order; mood, state of mind," from Latin dispositionem (nominative dispositio) "arrangement, management," noun of action from past participle stem of disponere "to put in order, arrange" (see dispose). References to "temperament" (late 14c. in English) are from astrological use of the word for "position of a planet as a determining influence."