prepossess
Americanverb (used with object)
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to possess or dominate mentally beforehand, as a prejudice does.
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to prejudice or bias, especially favorably.
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to impress favorably beforehand or at the outset.
verb
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to preoccupy or engross mentally
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to influence in advance for or against a person or thing; prejudice; bias
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to make a favourable impression on beforehand
Etymology
Origin of prepossess
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.
His aim is to explore the Antarctic coast south of Australia and prepossess it for his dominion.
From Time Magazine Archive
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He saw two young women in black;—but there was nothing to prepossess him about either of them.
From Ralph the Heir by Trollope, Anthony
Neither did the puff preliminary, which heralded the appearance of this volume, prepossess us strongly in its favour.
From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 372, October 1846 by Various
From that time Herbert came to our house daily and knew how to prepossess my sick father so well, that father finally felt a desire for the union himself.
From The Sign of Flame by Werner, E. T. C. (Edward Theodore Chalmers)
This was regarded as a threat, and did not help to prepossess the members favorably in regard to the feeling with which the king was to meet them.
From Charles I Makers of History by Abbott, Jacob
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.