prepossessv.
/ˌpriːpəˈzɛs/, U.S. /ˌpripəˈzɛs/ 1. † b. transitive. To cause (a person) to think that. Obsolete.
a. transitive. To cause (a person) to be preoccupied with or by a feeling, notion, etc.; to preoccupy with or by; to imbue, inspire, or affect strongly beforehand.
ΚΠ
1609 T. Heywood in tr. Sallust Two Worthy & Notable Hist. Ep. to Rdr. sig. ¶2v Hee presumeth to prepossesse the minds of Artists with imaginarie assertions.
1639 T. Fuller Hist. Holy Warre ii. xx. 70 Being prepossessed with this intent to dispossesse him of his place.
1642 J. Milton Apol. Smectymnuus 7 Seeking thus unseasonably to prepossesse men of his modesty.
1657 tr. A. Thevet Prosopographia 16 in T. North tr. Plutarch Lives (new ed.) They were..prepossest with an ill opinion of him.
1730 A. Gordon tr. F. S. Maffei Compl. Hist. Anc. Amphitheatres 288 Having been prepossessed in the Opinion, that they were all equal.
1738 tr. S. Guazzo Art of Conversat. 53 They prepossess their Auditors of their own Sincerity,..and under that Covert say the most spiteful Things.
1836 J. Keble Serm. (1848) viii. 201 The Creed..had prepossessed them with these truths, before ever they thought of proving them from Holy Writ.
1862 S. Lucas Secularia 375 The result of a disposition by which it [sc. the French nobility] was fatally prepossessed.
1988 Chicago Tribune (Nexis) 19 Apr. c1 Esposito is a smart person, a detail guy and prepossessed by excellence.
2004 Spectator (Nexis) 10 July 35 On the female problem that so prepossesses Sir John, I offer the advice of a fellow septuagenarian.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > belief, trust, confidence > act of convincing, conviction > bring to belief, convince [verb (transitive)]
persuadec1450
ensurec1500
satisfyc1520
convict1583
forcea1586
move1590
possess1591
secure1602
confirm1607
convince1609
convince1632
induce1655
prepossessa1676
coax1676
a1676 M. Hale Primitive Originat. Mankind (1677) i. ii. 69 This brief Inventory I have here given..to pre-possess the Reader, 1. That [this] is no contemptible or unworthy enquiry.
a1732 J. Gay Fables (1738) II. iii. 18 We're prepossest my Lord inherits, In some degree, his grandsire's merits.
1811 J. Austen Sense & Sensibility II. xi. 217 Fanny and Mrs. Ferrars were both strongly prepossessed that neither she nor her daughters were such kind of women. View more context for this quotation
a. transitive. To take or get possession of beforehand, or before another; to have prior possession of. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > have or possess [verb (transitive)] > beforehand
preoccupate1582
prepossess1614
1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. v. iii. §11. 478 All passages out of their campe, Martius hath prepossessed, so that there is no way to escape.
1640 E. Reynolds Treat. Passions xvii. 186 Honours seldome come to us but by the mortality of those that prepossessed them.
1665 T. Manley tr. H. Grotius De Rebus Belgicis 349 The Enemy had prepossessed all the places more inward.
a1716 R. South Serm. Several Occasions (1744) X. 42 Hope is that which antedates, and prepossesses a future good.
b. transitive (reflexive). reflexive and in passive. To acquire possession of something in advance or before another person (also with with). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > taking possession > take possession of [verb (reflexive)] > beforehand
prepossessa1656
a1656 J. Ussher Ann. World (1658) 855 Pilate prepossessing himself with his horse and foot at the top of the hill.
1702 R. L'Estrange tr. Josephus Jewish Antiq. xiv. viii, in Wks. 386 Without more ado they Prepossess'd themselves of the Temple.
1738 tr. S. Guazzo Art of Conversat. 79 Some..eagerly push for the chief Place, and are mightily chagrin'd if another is prepossessed of that silly Pre-eminence.
3. transitive. To influence (a person) in advance against or in favour of a person or thing; to bias, prejudice. Now also frequently: to make a favourable impression on.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > bias, prejudice > judge with prejudice [verb (transitive)] > cause prejudice in
prevent1551
forestall?1571
bias1581
preoccupate1582
prejudicate1602
prejudice1610
pre-engage1646
prepossess1647
preoccupya1658
tamper1687
1647 J. Trapp Comm. Epist. & Rev. (1 Cor. i. 22) The reason of their rejecting the Gospel is, they are prepossessed against it.
1654 T. Fuller Comment on Ruth 159 in 2 Serm. Who have taken Bribes to prepossesse the Judge.
1700 T. Brown Amusem. Serious & Comical xi. 141 An Outside so Prepossessing us in his Favour.
1787 W. Beckford Portuguese Jrnl. 30 June (1954) 110 The English have been trying their best endeavours to prepossess him against me.
1849 E. B. Eastwick Dry Leaves 123 I was quite pre-possessed by his appearance.
1866 G. MacDonald Ann. Quiet Neighbourhood xiii His talk prepossessed me still more in his favour.
1871 J. O. Brookfield Influence ii. 84 I must say he did not prepossess me at all the little I saw of him; he was silent and dull, and exceedingly ill-dressed.
1914 M. Beerbohm Let. 6 July (1988) 99 The latter I have looked up in Who's Who, and she doesn't prepossess me.
1969 W. Birney James G. Birney & His Times 5 For General Jackson he cherished an antipathy that amounted to rancor, and the feeling prepossessed him against the general's personal and political friends.
2002 Africa News (Nexis) 9 Apr. I say this not to prepossess you, but to place in context your present efforts.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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