prepossession
Americannoun
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the state of being prepossessed.
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a prejudice, especially one in favor of a person or thing.
- Synonyms:
- interest, bias, liking, predilection
noun
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the state or condition of being prepossessed
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a prejudice or bias, esp a favourable one
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of prepossession
First recorded in 1640–50; pre- + possession
Explanation
Prepossession is a prejudice or a preconceived idea about something. You might be accused of prepossession if you decided you were going to dislike your new job before you'd even started working there. When you've got a strong opinion about a subject — or a person — despite having little information or direct experience, that's prepossession. Your prepossession on the subject of cats might make it hard for you to be enthusiastic about your roommate's new kitten, for example. The obsolete verb prepossess originally meant "to get possession of beforehand." By the 1630's, it came to mean "to possess a person beforehand with a feeling or idea," usually in a positive sense.
Vocabulary lists containing prepossession
"Common Sense," Vocabulary from the pamphlet
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Common Sense
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Society and Solitude
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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.
The countenance and appearance of Chapelle Marteau confirmed any prepossession in his favour.
From Henry of Guise; (Vol. II of 3) or, The States of Blois by James, G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford)
They were soon quite at home on the subject of education, and Dr. Halford added no little to the prepossession he had created by listening to her anxieties respecting Freddy's health with courteous interest.
From Englefield Grange or Mary Armstrong's Troubles by Paull, H. B.
He ought to have an enthusiastic prepossession in favour of his candidate.
From Crying for the Light, Vol. 2 [of 3] or Fifty Years Ago by Ritchie, J. Ewing (James Ewing)
I may be foolish to do so--the prepossession may be false--the motives for such belief may be slight; but yet that belief is strong.
From The Gipsy (Vols I & II) A Tale by James, G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford)
It is far more probable that, approaching his subject with a strong prepossession, he was positively blind to anything that told against his own view.
From The Age of Tennyson by Walker, Hugh
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.
