Showing results for "predisposed"

• past participle of predispose.
• past tense form of predispose.

predisposed

American  

[pree-di-spohzd] / ˌpri dɪˈspoʊzd /

adjective

1. having or showing an inclination or tendency toward a specified condition, opinion, behavior, etc., beforehand.

   Many studies show how genes interact with the environment to cause disease in predisposed individuals.

   The novel is skillfully written, but in a style that requires close reading and a predisposed reader.

---

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of predispose.

Other Word Forms

• predisposedness
  noun
• unpredisposed
  adjective
• predisposedly
  adverb

---

Etymology

Origin of predisposed

predispose ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

---

Explanation

If you’re predisposed to something, you’re heading in that direction already — you already have a tendency to develop it. Your medical history or your habits could make you predisposed to a condition, like high blood pressure, or chocolate addiction. Predisposed often describes medical conditions, but it can refer to any tendency. You might be predisposed to a pessimistic outlook. You’re probably predisposed to like someone one of your friends likes. Or you could be predisposed to act in a certain way. If you’re really proud of your dad’s work as a lawyer, you might be predisposed to become a lawyer yourself.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

predisposed

Certain breeds are predisposed to heart or orthopedic issues, for example, that can be expensive to treat.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 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

"Exosomes are used to communicate with and activate surrounding cells, and we have now identified a defect in both the production and the quality of exosomes in cells that we know are predisposed to Alzheimer's."

From Science Daily ● Nov. 25, 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

A lot of people will claim to be both, but those people miss the point entirely: You are predisposed to either one fate or the other.

From "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---