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

• predisposedly adverb
• predisposedness noun
• unpredisposed adjective

Etymology

Origin of predisposed

predispose ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

"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

"Clearly, the authors of these papers are predisposed in favour of Nova since they created it," she said, adding that more research is needed to identify the exact mechanisms that UPFs could be causing harm.

From Barron's • Nov. 18, 2025

She underwent two DNA tests at the University of Washington to see if she had any genes that might have predisposed her.

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 14, 2025

Wojcicki said inquiries poured into 23andMe in 2015 after actor Angelina Jolie disclosed that she’d undergone a precautionary double mastectomy upon learning she carried a gene that predisposed her to breast cancer.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2025

Charlie and his partners had done this often enough, and had had enough success, to know that the markets were predisposed to underestimating the likelihood of dramatic change.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis