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:
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
Their goal was to pinpoint what biological conditions might predispose some people to the problem.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2025
In fact, his real interest was in “all aspects of the environment in which infection transmission occurs and the environmental conditions that predispose to all manner of human disease,” as infectious disease researchers write.
From Salon ● Feb. 21, 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
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
"On the other hand, if telomeres are too long, it predisposes you to certain types of cancer."
From Science Daily ● Apr. 11, 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
Constipation certainly predisposes to it, and it appears to be more prevalent among medical men, commercial travellers, or any engaged in arduous callings, subjected to irregular meals, fatigue and exposure.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 4 "Diameter" to "Dinarchus" by Various
When that fan base is predisposed to wanting to stick it to the man, it’s not a tough sell.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 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
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
But the human body is a disorderly thing predisposed to rot from the outside in.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2024
Charlie and his partners had done this often enough, and had had enough success, to know that the markets were predisposed to underestimating the likelihood of dramatic change.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
“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
“The difference is likely due to a combination of stress and inflammation, arising from predisposing factors and the way this virus biologically interacts with the cardiovascular system.”
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 26, 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
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.
