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Webster 1913 Edition


Prepossession

Preˊpos-ses′sion

,
Noun.
1.
Preoccupation; prior possession.
Hammond.
2.
Preoccupation of the mind by an opinion, or impression, already formed; preconceived opinion; previous impression; bias; – generally, but not always, used in a favorable sense;
as, the
prepossessions
of childhood
.
“The prejudices and prepossessions of the country.”
Sir W. Scott.
Syn. – Bent; bias; inclination; preoccupancy; prejudgment. See
Bent
.

Webster 1828 Edition


Prepossession

PREPOSSES'SION

,
Noun.
Preoccupation; prior possession.
1.
Preconceived opinion; the effect of previous impressions on the mind or heart, in favor or against any person or thing. It is often used in a good sense; sometimes it is equivalent to prejudice, and sometimes a softer name for it. In general, it conveys an idea less odious than prejudice; as the prepossessions of education.

Definition 2024


prepossession

prepossession

English

Noun

prepossession (plural prepossessions)

  1. Preoccupation; having possession beforehand.
  2. A preconceived opinion, or previous impression; bias, prejudice.
    • 1902, William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience, Folio Society 2008, p. 386:
      The spontaneous intellect of man always defines the divine which it feels in ways that harmonise with its temporary intellectual prepossessions.

Quotations

  • 1791 : I am fully sensible to the greatness of that freedom, which I take with you on the present occasion; a liberty which seemed to me scarcely allowable, when I reflected on that distinguished and dignified station in which you stand, and the almost general prejudice and prepossession, which is so prevalent in the world against those of my complexion. - Letter from Benjamin Banneker to Thomas Jefferson, August 19, 1791

References

  • prepossession in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913