Also spelled pre-possess
verb
Freq #810866
Meanings
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1
verb
to influence someone's opinion in advance, especially favorably
Her calm confidence prepossessed the committee in her favor.
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2
verb
to occupy someone's thoughts or attention beforehand
The approaching trial prepossessed his mind.
Thesaurus
Synonyms
Word family
Forms
prepossessing
Derived forms
prepossessedprepossessedlyprepossessednessprepossessingprepossessinglyprepossessingnessprepossessionprepossessorunprepossessingunprepossessinglyunprepossessingness
Etymology
From pre- (prefix meaning ‘before, earlier in time’) + possess. Cognates * Late Latin prepossessus (“seized beforehand”)