prepossession
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From pre- + possession.
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Noun
prepossession (plural prepossessions)
- Preoccupation; having possession beforehand.
- 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.
- 1902, William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience, Folio Society 2008, p. 386:
[edit] 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
[edit] References
- prepossession in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
