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
  • Contrary to the traditional labor theory of value, which calculates the value of a good or service through the amount of labor required to produce it, Poliks and Trillo posit latency and delay to be the true sources of value.
    — Sophie Landres, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Such questions are critical to a long-standing puzzle of percolation theory, a subfield of probability theory focused on the permeability of networks.
    — Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 30 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • In some cases, the obsession becomes so extreme that men may avoid eating foods prepared elsewhere or outside their strict standards.
    — Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • There was this strange obsession that Ghana had with Western culture and, in this case, American culture.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ended the assumption that energy infrastructure could be insulated from geopolitics.
    — Sam Birchall, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Zahir Islam, PhD, a physicist at ANL, and co-author of the study, said the finding challenges a common assumption in microelectronics that the substrate beneath a thin film simply acts as a passive support.
    — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Maybe that’s because these challenging and seemingly intractable problems are usually treated as separate crises requiring separate solutions.
    — Stanley McChrystal, STAT, 29 Sep. 2026
  • No, the problem is not the lack of a good economic case or even the lack of investment.
    — Stephanie Walton, Fortune, 29 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 6 Oct. 2026.

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