predispose

[ pree-di-spohz ]

See synonyms for: predispose predisposed predisposing on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),pre·dis·posed, pre·dis·pos·ing.

to give an inclination or tendency to beforehand; make susceptible: Genetic factors may predispose human beings to certain metabolic diseases.
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),pre·dis·posed, pre·dis·pos·ing.

to give or furnish a tendency or inclination: an underground job that predisposes to lung infection.

Origin of predispose

First recorded in 1640–50; pre- + dispose

Other words for predispose

1	prearrange, prepare
3	bias, incline

See synonyms for predispose on Thesaurus.com

Other words from predispose

pre·dis·pos·al, noun
un·pre·dis·pos·ing, adjective

Words Nearby predispose

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use predispose in a sentence

That means this group is predisposed to fear change even more than the average person.
Homeownership can bring out the worst in you | Jerusalem Demsas | July 30, 2021 | Vox
There’s also no clear link to underlying conditions that might predispose someone to develop long covid.
Here’s what we know about kids and long covid | Cassandra Willyard | July 13, 2021 | MIT Technology Review
People who are genetically predisposed to schizophrenia might be more likely to suffer these side-effects, experts point out.
Meditation isn’t always calming. For a select few, it may lead to psychosis. | Claire Maldarelli | June 21, 2021 | Popular-Science
While there’s still a lot researchers don’t know, some believe, based on case-reports, that people who are predisposed to mental illness, particularly schizophrenia, are more at risk.
Meditation isn’t always calming. For a select few, it may lead to psychosis. | Claire Maldarelli | June 21, 2021 | Popular-Science
Scientists used to believe women were predisposed to identifying their children’s cries, while men exhibited worse traits of recognition.
Discover the Science of Fatherhood | Sean Culligan | June 18, 2021 | Ozy

These are significant changes that will simultaneously predispose them to a more conservative view of the world.
Forget 2012: Long-Term Demographic Trends Favorable to Republicans | Michael Medved | November 28, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
The expectation that a gun was involved appeared to predispose the cops toward deadly force.
Police Know Better Than to Stand Their Ground | Eugene O'Donnell | April 8, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
Why does maternal hip width predispose to cancer in babies born to that mother?
How Mom's Hip Size Predicts Her Daughter's Risk | Kent L. Thornburg, PhD | October 24, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
The use of alcohol is believed by many physicians to predispose a person to tuberculosis.
A Civic Biology | George William Hunter
The same causes also predispose plants as well as animals, to epidemic attacks of disease.
Epidemics Examined and Explained: or, Living Germs Proved by Analogy to be a Source of Disease | John Grove
But her experience of Montrose and Meath did not predispose her towards the provincial atmosphere.
Lola Montez | Edmund B. d'Auvergne
As a matter of fact, he will have so disturbed himself as to predispose to insomnia.
Psychotherapy | James J. Walsh
It is evident that certain conditions predispose to headache.
Psychotherapy | James J. Walsh

British Dictionary definitions for predispose

predispose

/ (ˌpriːdɪˈspəʊz) /

verb(tr)

(often foll by to or towards) to incline or make (someone) susceptible to something beforehand
mainly law to dispose of (property, etc) beforehand; bequeath

Derived forms of predispose

predisposal, noun

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

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