prepossess

[ pree-puh-zes ]
See synonyms for prepossess on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object)
  1. to possess or dominate mentally beforehand, as a prejudice does.

  2. to prejudice or bias, especially favorably.

  1. to impress favorably beforehand or at the outset.

Origin of prepossess

1
First recorded in 1605–15; pre- + possess

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use prepossess in a sentence

  • Despite the arrogant manner of his address, Garnache felt prepossessed in the newcomer's favour.

    St. Martin's Summer | Rafael Sabatini
  • After having thus prepossessed our minds, they next prohibit our examining the things so important to be known.

    Letters To Eugenia | Paul Henri Thiry Holbach
  • Forester cast his eyes over the table, and thought he perceived that his delay had not prepossessed the company in his favor.

  • Thus prepossessed, all the rest that my soul loved and wished for in your reformation I hoped!

    Clarissa, Volume 6 (of 9) | Samuel Richardson
  • Marguerite, even, is prepossessed in his favor and has written a platonic poem in his honor.

    Under the Rose | Frederic Stewart Isham

British Dictionary definitions for prepossess

prepossess

/ (ˌpriːpəˈzɛs) /


verb(tr)
  1. to preoccupy or engross mentally

  2. to influence in advance for or against a person or thing; prejudice; bias

  1. to make a favourable impression on beforehand

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