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.
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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
-
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:
Research by UC San Francisco’s Sharon suggests migraine headaches predispose people to BPPV, by causing crystals to dislodge from their normal location.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 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
Studies show that adding sugar to any food for babies or small children predisposes them to having a sweet tooth.
From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2024
This predisposes them to developing the disease but in itself is not symptomatic.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 22, 2024
People with two copies of the APOE4 gene, which predisposes to Alzheimer’s, may be at higher risk of ARIA.
From Science Magazine ● Jan. 6, 2023
Of course, not all tip-takers sell their votes; but the moral laxity in one direction predisposes toward laxity in other directions.
From The Itching Palm A Study of the Habit of Tipping in America by William R Scott
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
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.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2025
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.
From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2025
“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.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2024
My mother had a superstition, in fact, that children were predisposed to certain dangers on certain days, all depending on their Chinese birthdate.
From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan
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
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.
