prepossession

ˌprē-pə-ˈze-shən
Definition of prepossessionnext

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun prepossession contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of prepossession are bias, predilection, and prejudice. While all these words mean "an attitude of mind that predisposes one to favor something," prepossession suggests a fixed conception likely to preclude objective judgment of anything counter to it.

a prepossession against technology

When can bias be used instead of prepossession?

The meanings of bias and prepossession largely overlap; however, bias implies an unreasoned and unfair distortion of judgment in favor of or against a person or thing.

a strong bias toward the plaintiff

Where would predilection be a reasonable alternative to prepossession?

Although the words predilection and prepossession have much in common, predilection implies a strong liking deriving from one's temperament or experience.

a predilection for travel

In what contexts can prejudice take the place of prepossession?

In some situations, the words prejudice and prepossession are roughly equivalent. However, prejudice usually implies an unfavorable prepossession and connotes a feeling rooted in suspicion, fear, or intolerance.

a mindless prejudice against the unfamiliar

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for prepossession
Noun
  • The lipstick index is an economic theory holding that sales of affordable discretionary spending or luxuries skyrocket when consumers believe an economic recession is impending.
    Sarah Glodek, Fortune, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Yet Turing’s theory of computation wasn’t really about computers, at least not at first.
    Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 28 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • One student told Leahy that the problem wasn’t decadence but an obsession with achievement and perfection.
    Deputy Managing Editor, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Chalk it up to a collective spice and condiment obsession, which grows more nuanced by the day.
    Maggie Hennessy, Bon Appetit Magazine, 1 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • The alternative is to allow each side’s strategy to reinforce the other’s worst assumptions until escalation begins to look less like a choice than an inevitability.
    Hamidreza Azizi, Time, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Bareilles is mourning a few things — the deaths of close friends, dreams of easy fertility, assumptions of female autonomy, the American dream — but the music soars, more often than not.
    Chris Willman, Variety, 29 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • By taking stem cells from a host’s own body and encouraging them to differentiate before mixing them with a commercially available, soluble matrix gel, researchers may have cracked the most critical problems in the transplant process.
    Mike McRae September 02, New Atlas, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Along with the brilliant Sangare, the signing of El Hadji Malick Diouf at left-back addresses a problem area for them.
    Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 2 Sep. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Prepossession.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prepossession. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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