predispose

verb

pre·​dis·​pose ˌprē-di-ˈspōz 

predisposed; predisposing; predisposes

transitive verb

1

: to dispose in advance

a good teacher predisposes children to learn

2

: to make susceptible

malnutrition predisposes one to disease

intransitive verb

: to bring about susceptibility

predisposition

ˌprē-ˌdi-spə-ˈzi-shən 

noun

Did you know?

What is the difference between disposition and predisposition?

What exactly is someone's disposition? And is it different from a predisposition? A person's disposition is his or her usual mood or attitude. Are you typically pretty happy? You could be described as having a happy—or cheerful, or sunny—disposition. Animals have dispositions too; a dog with a nervous disposition doesn't easily relax into a restful pup curled up at someone’s feet. In this use, disposition is a synonym of temperament; both words refer to the complex set of attitudes and inclinations that guide behavior.

Disposition can also mean "tendency" or "inclination," and in such cases it has a surprising synonym: predisposition. A disposition to exaggerate is the same as a predisposition to exaggerate. A disposition toward humility is likewise the same thing as a predisposition toward humility. The fact of being "in advance" that the prefix pre- implies hardly matters when tendency and inclination are concerned, since both concern what is likely to happen in the future.

While phrases like "a disposition to cooperate" are about as common as "a predisposition to cooperate," when the context is medical, predisposition is far more common. Phrases like "a genetic predisposition to nearsightedness" appear much more frequently in published, edited text than similar phrases employing disposition.

Did you know?

Predispose usually means putting someone in a frame of mind to be willing to do something. So a longtime belief in the essential goodness of people, for example, will predispose us to trust a stranger. Teachers know that coming from a stable family generally predisposes children to learn. And viewing television violence for years may leave young people with a predisposition to accept real violence as normal. The medical sense of the word is similar. Thus, a person's genes may predispose her to diabetes or arthritis, and malnutrition over a long period can predispose you to all kinds of infections.

Choose the Right Synonym for predispose

incline, bias, dispose, predispose mean to influence one to have or take an attitude toward something.

incline implies a tendency to favor one of two or more actions or conclusions.

I incline to agree

bias suggests a settled and predictable leaning in one direction and connotes unfair prejudice.

the experience biased him against foreigners

dispose suggests an affecting of one's mood or temper so as to incline one toward something.

her nature disposes her to trust others

predispose implies the operation of a disposing influence well in advance of the opportunity to manifest itself.

does fictional violence predispose them to accept real violence?

Examples of predispose in a Sentence

Past experiences have predisposed her to distrust people.

Recent Examples on the Web

Karger believes there’s something about not just the ubiquity of the show but its sketch-comedy nature that can predispose voters against it. —Mara Reinstein, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Nov. 2024

Daniel Schiff, another researcher on the project, says many deepfakes are likely designed to reinforce the opinions of people who were already predisposed to believe their messaging. —Andrew R. Chow, TIME, 30 Oct. 2024

Jobs that customarily had gone to economists, who are predisposed to trust in markets, went instead to lawyers (like Deese), who are trained to focus on rules and institutions. —Nicholas Lemann, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2024

Those with Down syndrome are predisposed to certain conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and leukemia but are less likely to experience mass tumor cancers or certain heart diseases. —Joanne Haner, The Hill, 4 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1646, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

predispose

verb

pre·​dis·​pose ˌprēd-is-ˈpōz 

: to dispose in advance : make susceptible : incline

predisposition

ˌprē-ˌdis-pə-ˈzish-ən 

noun

Medical Definition

predispose

verb

pre·​dis·​pose ˌprēd-is-ˈpōz 

predisposed; predisposing

transitive verb

: to make susceptible

malnutrition predisposes one to disease

intransitive verb

: to bring about susceptibility

conditions that predispose to infection

Legal Definition

predispose

transitive verb

pre·​dis·​pose ˌprē-di-ˈspōz 

predisposed; predisposing

: to dispose or incline in advance

specifically : to make ready and willing to commit a crime

have been predisposed to engage in criminal behavior

—W. R. LaFave and J. H. Israel

Note: Predisposition on the part of a defendant vitiates the defense of entrapment.

predisposition

ˌprē-ˌdis-pə-ˈzi-shən 

noun