predispose
Americanverb (used with object)
-
predisposes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
predisposed,
past participle, past
-
predisposing
present participle
-
to give an inclination or tendency to beforehand; make susceptible.
Genetic factors may predispose human beings to certain metabolic diseases.
- Synonyms:
- prepare, prearrange
-
to render subject, susceptible, or liable.
The evidence predisposes him to public censure.
-
to dispose beforehand.
-
Archaic. to dispose of beforehand, as in a will, legacy, or the like.
verb (used without object)
-
predisposes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
predisposed,
past participle, past
-
predisposing
present participle
verb
-
to incline or make (someone) susceptible to something beforehand
-
law to dispose of (property, etc) beforehand; bequeath
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
predisposesimple
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predisposessimple
-
have predisposedperfect
-
has predisposedperfect
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am predisposingprogressive
-
are predisposingprogressive
-
is predisposingprogressive
-
have been predisposingperfect progressive
-
has been predisposingperfect progressive
Past
-
predisposedsimple
-
had predisposedperfect
-
was predisposingprogressive
-
were predisposingprogressive
-
had been predisposingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of predispose
Explanation
Predispose means to have a tendency toward something. Some people believe that just being born in Canada will predispose you to love ice hockey. Many situations or events can predispose you to have a particular reaction, opinion, or feeling. Being bitten by a dog as a child could predispose you to having a fear of dogs. Having ancestors with great athletic ability might predispose you to enjoy running. If you want to predispose your father to liking your new boyfriend, be sure to tell him about volunteering at the food bank and leave out the bits about his arrest and dropping out of school.
Vocabulary lists containing predispose
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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:
Recognizing this, some oncologists have begun administering drugs with restraint rather than abandon, aiming to keep the cancer in check rather than creating conditions that predispose to the rapid growth of resistant cells.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026
"The whole team undertakes a standardized warm-up that addresses a number of physical concerns that predispose our female athletes to ACLs," she said.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2025
Nothing in her environment would predispose her to cancer, except for being in close proximity to the fires.
From Slate ● Jan. 16, 2025
The effort, Gershman explained, is "baseless" because it's "too broad" and "involves speculation and irresponsible insinuation" that the judge's relationship with his daughter would predispose him to rule based on that relationship.
From Salon ● Apr. 2, 2024
Attitudes such as these certainly predispose one to innumeracy.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
The condition turns up in 10% to 20% of people in their 70s, and predisposes them to blood cancer and, surprisingly, heart disease, likely driven by the inflammation these rogue cells provoke.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026
This predisposes them to developing the disease but in itself is not symptomatic.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 22, 2024
Perhaps spending a premium to see a movie in person, and planning ahead, predisposes people to savor the experience.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 1, 2023
"Pollutants make you more allergic in general and this can trigger eczema, being an allergic individual predisposes you to developing eczema compared with a non-allergic person."
From Salon ● Jun. 3, 2023
It also predisposes to the greater action of other causes.
From Degeneracy Its Causes, Signs and Results by Eugene S. Talbot
Certain breeds are predisposed to heart or orthopedic issues, for example, that can be expensive to treat.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
Among participants assigned to the low-carb diet, those who were genetically predisposed to higher LDL cholesterol were more likely to experience an increase.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
"This situation could lead to many of the students ending up in a vulnerable situation and predisposed to being further exploited financially or otherwise," Juho Sillanpää, who is leading the investigation, told the BBC.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
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.
From Salon ● Mar. 1, 2025
The slight gracelessness of my walk, which Dr. Luce had commented on, predisposed me to join die graceless sex.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
There may also be "predisposing factors", such as trauma, issues from early childhood, or negative self-belief, that can make it harder to curb your use, she says.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
“Inadequate nutrition, particularly vitamin A deficiency, can impair the lining of the digestive tract, predisposing birds to inflammation and secondary illness.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2026
However, the new study indicates that, without simultaneous maternal pulse recording, this method is a significant risk factor predisposing the fetus to labour-related hypoxia and its long-term neurological effects.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 30, 2024
Which predisposing conditions the person was diagnosed with.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 23, 2022
Was there anything about the Chinese environment predisposing toward Confucian philosophy and cultural conservatism, which may also have profoundly affected history?
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
