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
-
predisposessimple
-
have predisposedperfect
-
has predisposedperfect
-
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
Their goal was to pinpoint what biological conditions might predispose some people to the problem.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2025
Nothing in her environment would predispose her to cancer, except for being in close proximity to the fires.
From Slate ● Jan. 16, 2025
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
"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
Few countries in the region even screen for the disease and give affected newborns penicillin as prophylaxis against the infections to which their condition predisposes them, says Ambroise Wonkam, a geneticist at Johns Hopkins University.
From Science Magazine ● Mar. 12, 2023
One attack predisposes to another, hence the above precautions are necessary to prevent the condition from becoming chronic.
From Dietetics for Nurses by Fairfax T. Proudfit
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
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
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 cases described, on the other hand, were predisposed to gross lapses in reality contact and extreme weakness in impulse control during periods of heightened tension and disorganization.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
“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
But a recent study suggested that the risk of so-called long COVID-19 is highest among people with one of four predisposing factors, including Type 2 diabetes and the presence of autoantibodies.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 4, 2022
Many species of Sorbus have a small population size, predisposing them to threatening events.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2021
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.
