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.

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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

"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

“We adults have persuaded ourselves that this is one of the bonuses of being a child, that you can revel in magical creatures. But there isn’t much evidence that children are predisposed to magical thinking.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2024

But the human body is a disorderly thing predisposed to rot from the outside in.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2024

Sedentary villages based on cereals were already in existence before the rise of food production and predisposed those hunter-gatherers to agriculture and herding.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond