predisposition

[pree-dis-puh-zish-uh n, pree-dis-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR predisposition ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the fact or condition of being predisposed: a predisposition to think optimistically.

Medicine/Medical. tendency to a condition or quality, usually based on the combined effects of genetic and environmental factors.

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Nearby words

Origin of predisposition

First recorded in 1615–25; pre- + disposition

Related formspre·dis·po·si·tion·al, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for predisposition

When was the first time I realized this was beyond a predisposition to anxiety?
Richard Russo Talks About New Memoir “Elsewhere” And His Mother’s Illness|Jane Ciabattari|November 12, 2012|DAILY BEAST
She says men who kill women they love have a predisposition for violence and an archaic attitude toward women in their lives.
Italy Struggles With Spate of Domestic-Violence Murders|Barbie Latza Nadeau|March 16, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The role of genes in causing a predisposition for cancer during this time of life is unknown and warrants intensive research.
How Mom's Hip Size Predicts Her Daughter's Risk|Kent L. Thornburg, PhD|October 24, 2009|DAILY BEAST
In the biographic spell, no ingredient is more magical than predisposition.
Curiosities of Literature, Vol. 1 (of 3)|Isaac D'Israeli

Here again we may have causes for disease, or predisposition to disease.
Disease in Plants|H. Marshall Ward
Predisposition of active life subjection to enchantments, iv.
Plotinos: Complete Works, v. 4|Plotinos (Plotinus)
We do not know just the measure of the inheritance of the predisposition.
Being Well-Born|Michael F. Guyer
For the development of melancholia a predisposition seems to be necessary.
Essays In Pastoral Medicine|Austin Malley

British Dictionary definitions for predisposition

predisposition

noun

the condition of being predisposed

med susceptibility to a specific diseaseSee diathesis

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

Word Origin and History for predisposition

predisposition

1620s, from pre- + disposition.

Medicine definitions for predisposition

predisposition

[prē′dĭs-pə-zĭsh′ən]

n.

The state of being predisposed.

A condition of special susceptibility, as to a disease.